


The Perfect Storm

by FortuneSnowman



Series: The Next Few Months [1]
Category: Night In The Woods (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, F/F, Mental Health Issues, Post-Canon, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-13
Updated: 2018-01-13
Packaged: 2019-03-04 07:06:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 21,537
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13359084
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FortuneSnowman/pseuds/FortuneSnowman
Summary: Mae and Bea attend their next party and come to terms with their places in each other's lives.





	1. Different Types of Friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I played Night in the Woods a few months back. I've been writing daily for years and years now, but it's been a very long time since I've done a fanfiction. This game sorta compelled me to give it a go again, so I replayed everything when Weird Autumn came out, started writing up ideas and notes, and pumped this out over a few weeks to a personal friend for feedback. Now that it's finished and all is well, I'm uploading it. I'll try to keep these notes brief, but hopefully they'll give some insight onto what's going through my head.

Okay, let’s think. Bea said the whole drive was about 90 minutes, which might have helped except Mae didn’t remember what time they’d left. It was 10:07 PM now on account of the snowy roads slowing them down, but that was fine. Late nights were fine. Anyway, 90 minutes, give or take a few depending on the traffic…

Mae looked over to Bea’s side of the dashboard. They were at steady 40 mph, so that meant… wait, no, they’d been on the highway earlier right? So they must have been going faster earlier. Probably. Mae hadn’t checked. Well she didn’t know exactly how fast, but they must have been driving at least 80 miles, right? Wait, no. That sounded wrong.

Bea could probably figure this out easy since she’d apparently gone to math camp, whatever that was. She probably only worked with higher class math though. Algebra and arithmetic and other extra fancy types, not distances so much. Besides, she was the driver, so it was kind of cheating since she’d already know the answer. Okay, focus, back on track… An hour was 60 minutes, then an extra 50% for the other 30 minutes, so…

Bea sighed. “What are you staring at?”

“Where the eff are we?” Mae asked.

“Like five minutes away”

“Oh cool” Well that was way easier than what she’d been doing. Didn’t exactly answer Mae’s question, but it was probably even better. She hadn’t been exactly relishing the mental exercise she was using to kill her boredom.

Mae stood up in her seat to better look out the window, watching the buildings go by in this unfamiliar town. They’d been here a month prior, on their last visit to one of Jackie’s parties, but to be honest Mae hadn’t paid much attention to the place.

Bea glanced over briefly. “You might want to sit”.

Winter as expected had come early this year, and the car was acting as their little warm bunker in what was otherwise freezing temperatures and some mild snowfall. Appropriately Mae had on a rather puffy, awkward snow coat, one that made her feel overdressed after seeing Bea looking essentially like her normal self with just a scarf on. Bea’d claimed to be wearing extra layers too, but it was impossible to tell really.

“Hey, where-” Mae started to ask, only for the car to come to a sudden jerking stop at an intersection and for Mae to stumble forward, very nearly falling out of her seat. And though she caught herself, for a few moments her world was still spinning forward. Everything tumbling.

“You alright?” Bea asked.

And then it was all back again. Right. Sitting, good idea. Bea probably did that on purpose. Always the stickler about people standing on the seats. Well, about Mae specifically, but only really because Mae was the only one who did it.

“Yeah, fine” Mae sat snugly into the cushions once more, feeling far more secure. Her ear twitched as her mind processed the little tumble just now, and just as quickly shoved it into the ‘Ignore’ folder in her head.

Quick fright aside, it was still kind of nice. There was no question that Mae did most of the talking for both of them, but Bea had been especially quiet on the drive even by those standards. Even this little bit of interaction was an improvement.

And then it was quiet again. Only the hum of the engine kept them company as they drove on.

It took a few more minutes for the silence to break again. “Got a minute?” Bea finally spoke up, her gaze still focused on the road.

The car slowed to a stop on the side of the road a block away from their destination. A pizza place was in view just down the road, and just out of view from the stopped car was the outdoor staircase leading down nightclub across the street from it. It was pretty much just a glorified basement.

“Yeah what’s up?” Not that Mae had much of a choice, but still.

Bea took the keys from the ignition and rested her chin on top of the steering wheel. “I just want to talk about this party”

Mae groaned as obnoxiously as she could manage. “Again? I got it, really. No drinking, no mentioning work, no bringing up last time. Easy” If her eyes had been rolling any harder they might just have fallen out of her skull.

“Uh huh”

Mae squinted. “You don’t trust me” 

Bea mentally debated the point before admitting “I trust… that you’ll try your best”

“That doesn’t mean anything. I  _ always _ do my best”

“That explains a lot” Bea rolled her eyes, took the keys from the ignition, and stowed then away in her pocket. “Well I’m here to relax, so it’d be really great if I didn’t have to worry about keeping tabs on you tonight”

“You could’ve just left me at home”

Bea smirked. “Yeah. I guess I could’ve” But she didn’t. Then she unlocked the doors and climbed out. “C’mon”

As soon as Mae touched down outside and shut the door behind her, every hair on her body stood on their ends. “Holy freaking god it’s cold!” She swore, zipping up her coat.

“It was snowing the whole way here” Bea rounded the car and tightened her scarf, heading down the sidewalk.

Shivering, Mae jogged to catch up and walk alongside her. “Yeah, but you forget that when it’s all toasty in the car. Like a big…” Drawing a blank, drawing a blank. “... thing, that’s… toasty”

“We’ll be inside in a minute, come on”

“Aren’t you cold?” Mae asked.

Bea was silent, just staring straight ahead contemplatively. Then her stoicism cracked for a moment and she hugged her arms close. “Like you wouldn’t believe”

“Should we run?”

“I’m gonna pass on the chance of slipping on ice, thanks” Bea said.

“I’m gonna run” Not that Mae needed an excuse. She didn’t wait a second more to run down the sidewalk through the snow straight towards the party. A few people were still hanging around outside in the snow talking amongst themselves, but at least she didn’t think she recognized anyone whose car she jumped on a month ago. Hard to tell.

And it was during this moment of wonder that Mae’s outstretched foot slid right out from under her. Before she could even comprehend what was happening, she was on her back staring up at the sky.

A few seconds later, accompanied by the sound of snow being crushed underfoot, Bea appeared standing over her and offering a hand. “Anything hurt?” she asked.

“A toaster!” Mae answered, taking the hand and standing once more despite her feet once again attempting to slide out from under her. “That’s what I was thinking of! How’d I forget that? That was easy!”

Bea gave one quick brush of her arm, wiping the layer of white off Mae, and approached the basement stairs.

Mae followed, sliding one last time before just settling on a spot she found comfortable. “God, these boots are just good for nothing” And then… they were stuck waiting again. Staring at the staircase and growing colder by the minute. Last time they’d at least been talking, but for whatever reason Bea completely clammed up. Mae shivered quietly. “Can’t we just go in?”

“Hey Jackie!” Apparently Bea had taken that moment to suppress her nerves and call out.

Oh right, Jackie.

From the dark room down the stairway before there emerged the evil shadowy figure of Bea’s  _ other _ best friend who could be kind of a jerk. Geez, was she just waiting there all night

“Hey Bea, there you are!” Jackie hurried up the stairs, hands in her pockets cool as always with a smile that immediately dropped upon seeing the bundled up Mae shivering at Bea’s side. “And you brought Mae. Again”

“Yeah, is that okay?” Bea asked.

Oh cool they were going to do this thing where it was all awkward as hell. Mae’s ear twitched, her eyes found an interesting patch of snow to stare at, and she waited for it to be over.

“Sure, I mean…” Jackie trailed off. Wow, this was a total repeat of last time, awkward introduction and all. “Actually, no it’s not. Bea, sweetie, you need this tonight. You really didn’t have to bring her again”

Bea shrugged. “I know. I wanted to”

“Aww” Mae lovingly snarked under her breath, gaining two unwelcome glares from the two taller members of the conversation. She rolled her eyes. “Fine, geez”

Jackie shook her head, clearly unsatisfied. “I’m just saying after last time…”

Well, there wasn’t much else that needed to be said. They’d all been there, they all knew what had happened. Still both Mae and Bea stood unconvinced.

“Look, Bea, I’m not gonna tell you your business, but...” Jackie just gestured towards Mae, as though all of her was the problem.

Bea deeply sighed. “I know”

“I’m just saying” Jackie said.

“I know”

“I’m standing right here” Mae spoke up, only to be thoroughly ignored.

Jackie had gone silent, looking from Bea to Mae and back again over and over, before finally shrugging. “It’s  _ your _ night, Bea. You do what you want”

Jackie stepped aside, waving for them to head down the stairs and into the party. Well, for Bea to at least. Jackie put a hand on Mae’s shoulder as she tried to pass. “Mind if I talk to Mae real quick?” She asked Bea.

Mae sighed. She could probably gnaw Jackie’s arm off like a wolf right now. Just escape into the party. But that’s why she and Bea were so close, they looked out for-

“Go for it” Bea answered, already heading on inside.

“Bea, what the hell?!”

“You’ll be fine” Bea called back as she descended into the party below.

Oh sure. Yeah. She’d be fine. Alone in some college town with the fascist punching… bad person. God it’s too cold to think of good metaphors.

And still the two of them stood in silence, staring at one another, Jackie with her arms crossed, Mae with her… puffy coat. Mae’s eyes darted around the parking lot, then back to Jackie. Then to the party… back to Jackie. Down the road to the car… “... Sooooo…”

Jackie huffed. “I don’t know what the hell you think you’re doing here”

“Oh really, are we gonna do this already? I  _ just _ got here. I’m not gonna mess anything up”

“Sure you’d say that. You’re a walking disaster area, and Bea really needs this tonight. I don’t know what she’s thinking bringing you along again, but so help me god if you screw this up a second time-”

“That was an honest mistake! I’ve got it all under control this time! Just lay off and let me help!” Mae yelled, arms raised.

Jackie shook her head dismissively. “You put one foot out of line tonight, Borowski, and I swear I will hurt you”

“You’re kind of a bitch” Mae spat back.

And silence fell. And Jackie stepped back, just as unwilling to ruin tonight as Mae was. She sighed, nodding her head toward the stairs. “Get inside”

Mae glared for a moment more, and instead asked “Is that Bombshell girl here?”

“Uh… Bombshell?”

“Brown hair, blue highlights, I think? It was really dark in there last time. Pretty much the hottest thing ever? I think she had a couple piercings”

“Well that’s not her name, but-“ Jackie started.

“Shhhh! Don’t ruin this for me. She’s Bombshell to  _ me _ , ‘cause that’s what she looks like”

“Like a bombshell” Jackie said.

“Yeah”

They stood in awkward silence. Mae was good at making those. There’s a job idea, librarian. She already liked books anyway.

Jackie shrugged. “In the back, last I saw”

“Thanks!” And Mae hurried down the stairway into the of creepy basement with music pouring out of it.

“Stay out of trouble!” Jackie called after her.

For now, Mae was going to ignore that. If she didn’t they’d probably end up fighting, but like not in the snarky back and forth way. And if either of them put hands on the other, that’d be it for Bea’s night.

If there was any saving grace, it was that Bea was leaning on the doorframe just inside. As she approached, Bea stood up straight and asked “Jackie’s not coming down?”

Mae grumbled out some unintelligible combination of “I don’t know” and “I don’t care”

The basement was way more packed than it had been on their last visit, to the point Mae couldn’t see from one end of the room to the other. Which had nothing to do with her height. There were just a lot of people. And a fair bit of cigarette smoke in the air. And while those hanging around the tables and corners of the room were content to talk amongst themselves, there was that ever inviting dance floor covered in moving people in the center of the room, by the DJ.

Suddenly Mae wanted to dance… later. Well, now, but she was busy now. “Thanks for that by the way. Good thing I’m so small, too, or I might not have fit when you threw me under the bus”

Bea rolled her eyes. “Oh relax, you’re fine”

“Yeah you’re right, I totally needed the speech from Sergeant Hartman back there”

“What?” Bea asked.

Mae groaned loudly. “I can’t think of any good bossy movie characters right now! I’m still cold! And… a little hungry?”

Bea sighed, pinching the bridge of her… yeah. “Mae, you’re gonna have a good time at this party. Just give it a few minutes and you’ll forget that ever happened. Besides, I think Jackie gets a free pass on being mad at you after last time”

“Oh come on, I have to be the fall guy for last time forever? It’s not my fault! No one told me anything!”

“It was pretty ‘your fault’” Not that Bea held a grudge, but still. “Look, sorry I kinda threw you to the wolves there. The difference is you’ll get over it in a few minutes, but Jackie would’ve spent all night brooding if she didn’t get her chance” Bea produced an empty cigarette box from her pocket, frowned, dug her hand around her empty pocket, then sighed before crumpling up the empty box and tossing it away. “Dammit… So just take the high road here, alright?”

Mae stared at the discarded cigarette box. “I thought you were trying to quit”

“Yeah well, we’re at a party. I’m trying not to think about work” Bea produced her dummy cigarette and stuck that in her mouth instead.

“Does quitting smoking count as work?”

“Almost everything I do counts as work” Bea answered.

Wow. That would’ve been kinda funny if it wasn’t so sad. Mae decided to leave that depressing note where it was and start wandering through the crowds of people, to… nowhere in particular. Well, Mae was wandering and Bea was keeping close. As long as Jackie was sulking they were once again the best available friends. That thought brought a smile to Mae. “So... you’re saying I’m better than Jackie”

“I’m... saying I have two very different types of friends”

Mae’s face broke out into an incredibly punchable pleased-with-herself smirk. “I’m pretty sure you mean that I’m better than Jackie” she said. Bea shrugged, unwilling to take it any further. Mae stopped wandering and closed her eyes for a moment, enjoying the thought. “It’s cozy on the high road”

“You finished?” Bea asked.

Mae remained quiet, fully taking in that authentic good person highroad feeling. “Yep, let's go”

And off they went. Again. Mae still had no destination in mind. She was just trying to see if she could either find a snack table or spot Bombshell in the crowds. Bombshell didn’t really strike Mae as a dancer type. Too cool, too collected, too… uh...

The only real distracting part was that throughout all of this Bea was still following Mae around. Which Mae wouldn’t normally have minded, but it was kinda weird that she hadn’t said anything about it. Didn’t she want to go meet up with the fascist puncher?

Mae coughed loudly, stopping when they reached the other side of the room and pulling Bea from whatever trance she’d fallen into. “I thought I was supposed to be the nervous one”

Bea jerked back to alertness, and crossed her arms. “Figured I should hang around you a little while”

“I’m not going to drink”

“I know” Bea said.

Mae glared at Bea. “But you don’t believe me”

“I believe you’ll try not to” Bea answered.

“You know, it’s really shitty that you keep saying that”

Bea sighed. “Honestly? Mae, I’m just nervous about seeing those guys again after last time. Jackie’s not here so you owe me a comfort zone right now”

Oh. Right. Bea was totally crushing on one of those boys, wasn’t she? Oh wait. “Awww” Mae cooed smugly. “I’m your corner”

“What?” Bea asked, and was completely ignored.

Well now Mae really couldn’t screw this up. Love was on the line, or something. Whatever Bea wanted to do with those guys. Not that Mae had been planning to screw up, but still. Now she couldn’t. “Alright, keep on the lookout for that girl I kept telling you about and I’ll keep an eye out for your booooys”

“Deal. The Bombshell one?” Bea asked.

“Yeah”

So together they… wandered some more. With Mae’s new found self confidence now guiding her towards more absolutely no one she recognized. In fact that confidence lasted about one minute straight of walking and squeezing through crowds before Mae lost patience with the search. Bea being taller definitely would’ve helped if she looked like she was actually trying to find this girl. Lost in her own little nervous world.

“I bet she still thinks my name is Samantha” Mae mumbled.

“Samantha?” Bea asked, scanning the crowd.

“Boom. Hexed”

“To the Bombshell girl? Why did you tell her that?”

“Have you ever tried introducing yourself as Mae Borowski? I have. It sucks”

The two stopped once again as they rounded back at the doorway of the basement’s entrance, still thoroughly unwowed by hot babes.

“No one here even knows who you are” Bea went on.

“Exactly, because I said my name is Samantha. And I met a really hot girl and nothing bad happened until I hung out with people who knew my name was Mae”

Bea pulled her dummy cigarette out for just the moment to glare. “Something bad happened because you stopped  _ thinking _ and kept  _ talking _ ”

“Sure you say that, but that’s a one to zero on the Samantha versus Mae debate. I’m pretty sure that’s how the scientific method works”

Though her expression hadn’t changed at all, there was a shift in Bea’s tone that indicated she was just about done debating it. “Can’t argue with that”

And yet, they’d been wandering around for at least ten minutes looking for this chick without head or tail of her.

“This is stupid” Mae sighed. “Come on”

If there was one thing she’d noticed in her search, it was the snack table. Or like… whatever you call a snack table at a college party. ‘Snack table’ was really more high class sounding. Less low class at least.

Mae shoved her way through the crowd of people surrounding it, all going about their own business and probably preppy conversations. Still no Bombshell here, but that made sense for a girl like her to not hang around here. And she was right, you wouldn’t even call this a snack table. This was more of a red party cup table with a big untouched bowl of a candy almonds. High school all over again.

It was probably for the best to assume the many filled cups weren’t just preplaced for the taking. The keg off to the side was worth checking, which is what Mae squeezed the tap of, letting brown liquid spill out onto the floor just to check. Bea loudly cleared her throat, and so Mae let the tap go. For now. Smelled like beer anyway.

“They’re right over there” Bea spoke under her breath, nodding her head off towards a crowd Mae couldn’t see through. She kept her head down, the truest sign of this party so far not going great. Which made sense since they’d done… nothing so far. “So not drinking huh?”

Mae shrugged and hopped up to sit on the edge of the table. “I’ve never been to one of these for more than like ten minutes. What am I supposed to drink?”

“This party is literally right across from a pizza place. They have soda”

“And I don’t have money. What kind of ass backwards party has free alcohol and makes you buy normal drinks?”

Bea sighed and pulled out her wallet. “College parties, apparently”

“Jackie parties more like” Mae snarked. “I would know”

“Sure” Bea said, offering a five dollar bill, which she then snatched back as Mae reached for it. “You know you  _ just said _ you’ve never spent any time at a college party, right?”

“Ugh, sometimes I just lie about stuff that doesn’t really matter, okay?”

Well that wasn’t exactly good to hear, but… it was about what she expected. Bea sighed and handed over the bill. “Okay, fine, I’m not going to watch you all night. I’m trusting you here” Bea said. And instantly Mae beamed at that significant step up. “But I swear to god if I hear you say ‘nightmare eyes’ one time we are out of here”

“Fine geez” Mae said stuffing the bill in her pocket. And they were back to sitting-standing around with no direction. This whole thing was sucking. Shouldn’t Bea have been socializing by now? They hadn’t even danced.

“Christ, what’s taking Jackie?” Bea asked again.

“Oh yeah, does she usually hang out with you at these?”

“Yeah. I’m not exactly in my element at these things”

“Ah” And all of a sudden, that thought that she was the one taking the high road rang out in Mae’s head. And Jackie was probably waiting for the perfect moment to swoop in and steal Bea off, like a really bitchy vampire queen with horns. “Maybe it’s ‘cause of me?”

“Probably”

“I can like… go hang out in the corner if you want” Mae offered. Not that she wanted to, but the whole point of this was to not ruin Bea’s night.

“It’s fine” Bea said.

“Seriously. No problem at all”

“Mae-”

Mae hopped off the table, grabbed Bea by the wrist, and started leading her through the crowd again. “Come on, this is  _ your night _ , Beatrice. You don’t have to hang around me”

She hadn’t actually seen where Bea had pointed out before, but she had a decent idea. They rounded the beer table, Mae peeked between some people and at one point between someone’s legs, and eventually shoved their way into a little circle of people talking with two very familiar looking college boys standing among them, both of which immediately shut up at the sight of her and Bea. “I knew what I was getting into. No drinking, no mentioning work, no bringing up last time. Easy. Hi”

“Oh hey, you were here last time right? Mae, right?” One of them asked. His name was like… Chris, right? It was at this point Mae noticed Jackie hanging not two feet away from him, sour expression covered by her glasses.

“Yup. Here, look” Mae tugged Bea forward into the conversation who instantly could be confused for a deer in headlights. “My friend wants to talk to you guys. And Jackie’s here, that’s perfect”

Bea’s face eventually worked out something partially resembling a smile. She snatched her dummy cigarette out and hid it away, not that everyone hadn’t already seen it. “Wow, hi. Again. I’m-”

“Bea, right?” The other guy asked. Oh wait,  _ this _ was Chris. Maybe? Which was Chris? Or were they both Chris? “Yeah, you were here last time I think. I’d remember that name anywhere”

Mae elbowed Bea in the side, doing nothing to ease her worries. “See? Everyone knows everyone. It’s great. Soooo I’m just gonna go. Gotta find someone” Mae hastily started backing away.

“Oh, uh, alright. Later Mae!” One of the boy’s called after her.

Then a thought popped into Mae’s head, and she popped herself back into the conversational circle. “And sorry about last time when I called you a spoiled rich kid” Might as well get that over with.

There came Bea’s terrifyingly uncomfortable laugh. “Ha Ha, Mae…”

“I’m just saying. Didn’t mean it. Had kind of a party vibe going and stuff was just coming up”

“Mae, Mae”

“Okay sorry I’m going bye”

* * *

 

“Seriously?” Mae asked.

“You saw the price, you wanted large”

“I could’ve just gotten a pizza for that much!”

“No. You couldn’t have.”

“So you admit this place is overpriced”

“Go away, kid”

Actually I’m twenty. Is what she normally would have said, but this wasn’t going anywhere anyway. Mae took her large soda and marched herself right out of the pizzeria’s doors out into the snow again.

Hey, at least she still had 68 cents after that, enough to do absolutely nothing. And it was still cold as hell in the pizzeria parking lot, which only ruined the satisfaction of her nice cold soda. Needless to say, tonight was sucking.

Mae slid once on her way over to the basement’s stairs, and settled for sitting at the top of it. Nothing to do inside but make things awkward after all. No Bombshell in sight, cold out here… “This sucks”

That, and her butt was now freezing.

“Monday then?” Some girl asked from down at the other end of the parking lot.

“Yeah, it’s a date” Her partner answered. That one made Mae raise an eyebrow, but she kept her eyes locked on the stairs.

“See you then” the first girl said.

And then whatever little conversation the two strangers had been having was over, and it was back to quiet freezing lonesomeness for Mae.

Except she knew one of those voices from somewhere. And it was going to bug her all night. Mae glanced over and only saw one girl, and a disappearing figure rounding the parking lot corner to head down the sidewalk.

Well, Mae didn’t know this girl, so… okay, let’s see. There’s Bea, Jackie, the college kids, and Bombshell. Those were the only people she knew in this town so- oh right shit.

Mae was up on her feet and running across the parking lot within second, slipping over herself twice and only just staying upright as she slid to a stop in front of the slightly frightened looking college girl she’d just sprinted at.

“Hey was that Bombshell?” Mae asked.

“What?”

“Bombshell, the girl that- actually just forget it!”

“Wait, are you talking about-” The stranger began.

“Shh- just nevermind!”

There was only the one way she could’ve gone, so Mae bolted down the street as fast as her little legs could carry her. There was a chance to make tonight not totally suck!

Well down the street there wasn’t actually anyone in sight, but that was fine. Bombshell had gotten a head start. Mae could just check down the intersections at the next corner.

So as she arrived at the corner, Mae slid to a stop to look up and down the feet, and she was tumbling. Everything was tumbling. Spinning forward, no balance, no stability, just a dark snowy night that-

And then her head hit the ground after her boots slid straight off the sidewalk into the road. Mae sat upright, shaking off the sensation. Okay seriously what the hell was that? She sat scratching her head long enough that she only barely noticed the screeching of tires down the road, and the headlights of a car skidding to stop in front of her.

It came to a halt only a few feet away, at which point the driver’s window rolled down. He stuck his head out, and began yelling obscenities while Mae stood up and ran out of the road to the opposite sidewalk. Okay, right, that was stupid. That was  _ dangerous _ .

And crap, her soda was now spilled and abandoned in the middle of the road. Okay okay forget it, just keep going. Mae shook her head free of the collecting snow on it, and hurried down the sidewalk again. Bombshell hadn’t been down either way, probably? Maybe? She wasn’t totally sure anymore.

Mae reached the next intersection, this time taking far more care not to totally pass out mid step, and checked down both ways once again. No Bombshell… Mae rounded the corner, and started on her way again before stopping when a realization suddenly hit her.

“Wait, am I still going the same way?” Okay so… she’d crossed the road when that car had… no no, it’s fine. Mae turned and hurried back down this road, off to the next intersection. Looked down both ways, and saw neither a sign of a hot babe or a pizzeria. She had crossed the road, and then she’d… turned down one corner, or two? Had she turned the corner when her mind had blanked?

Mae wandered, slower now, down the next street to the next intersection, and saw once again nothing identifiable in sight. She stood there, letting it all sink in.

“Shit”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I gotta say I don't like my personal representation of Jackie at all through this, and that's not to say I feel I got it wrong. The majority of my early planning for this story was trying over and over and over to nail the conversation style and proper personalities of each character, because ultimately I feel these are some complicated people. Jackie specifically annoyed me because I personally look at her character and see a genuinely good person with an unbelievably shitty exterior, but since I'm going for accuracy the shittiness takes the front row seat. I guess she annoyed me during this because I wanted to write Jackie as better person than she is and couldn't.
> 
> Accuracy was my main focus. I guess I'm not the best person to ask if I succeeded.
> 
> I also didn't really want to use this chapter to talk about Jackie since she barely appears in it, but I figured it'd be better to get it out of the way here rather than in her other appearances so I could keep focusing on events as they came in the future notes.


	2. Giving Her Space

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lost Mae, lost Mae.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One of the things Weird Autumn added that I personally enjoyed the most was the one off conversations with total strangers. Something about seeing Mae interact with those she barely knew. Girl has a talent for keeping a conversation going about nothing.

Okay, don’t panic. You’re smarter than that, you got into college after all. Would’ve probably passed too. Just find a convenience store or something and ask directions.

Not that all the stores around here didn’t already look closed for the night, but it was like… a shopping district. So there  _ had _ to be somewhere open. Mae rounded a corner, looked down the street to see all the lights were off in all the stores, and continued on her way. One of these places would be open. Definitely. Eventually.

It wasn’t  _ that _ late.

“Actually yeah, why are towns always sectioned off like that? What’s stopping Mr. Twigmeyer from bulldozing his house and setting up a Snack Falcon right in the middle of the neighborhood instead?”

There was probably some legal reason for it. Must have been, otherwise everyone would do that because what the hell? It’s way more convenient. She’d probably be the only person going to the other one, and only because Gregg worked there. And she still wouldn’t be buying anything, so… he’d probably lose his job. Actually, yeah, it was probably better off this way.

A gust of wind picked up, and Mae clutched her coat tighter. Even considered pulling her hood up, except that her head was huge and despite her mom’s claims to the contrary it looked incredibly stupid. This way had some dignity to it.

“I should just start wearing a jacket full time, like Gregg. Well not like Gregg, I can’t pull off a biker coat like him” That’s the official term right? Biker coat? It was leather, she knew that, but no one but bikers wore them, so it must have been right by technicality. Even Gregg had a bike, also by technicality. “Actually maybe I should. He didn’t always have that thing. When he started wearing it he looked weird too. But he  _ owned it _ ”

Mae rummaged through her coat pocket. It always felt deeper than it actually was, but it didn’t really matter today as her journal was nowhere to be found. Well that was just perfect, must have left it in the car. Mae sighed. This was so typical. For now, she settled on making a mental doodle instead: ‘Be more like Gregg.’ “Wonder if I’ll get that later without the context”

The next corner Mae stopped at, she checked down the street both ways again, and this time found the heavenly glowing lights of a gas station still open for business. “Score!” That’s right, look on the bright side.

She thought over her doodle idea and dismissed it, running while she did. “What am I saying? That’s good advice  _ anywhere _ ” Really, the world could do with everyone being a bit more like Gregg.

She ran down the sidewalk, quite proud of herself for only slipping twice and not falling either time, and finally reached her destination of some off brand gas station she’d never seen before. Well like, if gas stations could even be off brand. The point was it was new to  _ her _ , so whatever.

There was one car waiting in the lot, which seemed to have just finished its business and begun driving off as she approached. That’s still fine though, she didn’t need them. The lights in the gas station were on. Well to be fair the lights in a lot of these buildings were on, but a lot looked like apartment buildings. And why could apartment buildings be built alongside stores?

Okay, focus Mae, you’re going in circles here.

While the snow would’ve normally made just about anywhere look magical, turns out even fancy off-brand gas stations in fancy college towns covered in snow still just sorta look like shit. Mae approached the front door and pressed her face up against the glass, spying inside at the racks of delicious packed goods overseen by one very bored looking teenager behind the counter and a grand total of one security camera with a blinking red light on the front.

Okay that was kinda BS. This craphole gets a working camera and the Taco Buck back home didn’t. It’s not like restaurants typically had cameras anyway, but it was kinda obvious which was more deserving.

Mae pushed the door open, a bell above the doorway signaling her arrival and the teen at the counter bolting up straight as though he’d been caught napping. Actually he looked a little like Cole, but like… younger. Younger and more bored and less intense. And less hot, obviously, that kinda came with being… however young he was. Okay, focus, this is easy.

The party was in the basement of… some pizza place, right? Or right across from it? A pizza place that  _ wasn’t _ a Pastabilities, because apparently everything in this town was fake and off -brand.

Mae shook herself off, a puff of white snow flying from her fur in every direction until she was once again her usual color. “Hey, you know where the pizza place is?” she asked, not even moving from the doorway.

The teen scanned her up and down… and leaned forward on the counter again, back to being bored. “... Evening to you too. Which one?”

“The one that’s like five minutes from here” Mae said.

“Yeah there’s like three different ones five minutes from here, we’re in the middle of the shopping district. Do you know the name?”

Mae shrugged. “I’m kinda from out of town. It’s… it’s like across the street from a creepy basement where college kids like to throw parties every month?”

“Oh right, I know that one what with all the college parties I go to” The teen snickered under his breath.

Mae squinted. “Are you being sarcastic?”

“Tell ya what, maybe information like that’s only for paying customers”

“Ugh, why are the only teens I run into weird, super unhelpful ones?” Mae audibly groaned.

“Only a teen for now. I’m seventeen, going off to college in a couple years. What about you, what’s your story, what’s your name?”

Mae rolled her eyes. “Trust me, you’re not missing out on anything at college”

“Except creepy basement parties, which are a pretty big step up from hanging out here”

“Wait do you not work here?” the teen asked.

The teen, which Mae quickly checked the nametag of to find his name was Archie, laid his chest on the counter completely. “Tell ya what kid-“

“I’m twenty”

“- I’m bored out of my mind, so you buy something and tell me about yourself and I’ll help you out”

Mae’s eyes narrowed. It was gonna be a loooong night. “I could just leave and not deal with this”

“Sure. Awful cold out there though. Didn’t look like you drove in. Bet it’d suck going off wandering again”

“Fine fine point made” Mae dug her hand through her pocket only to find the spare change she’d shoved in there after wasting the money on soda. “But uh… I don’t really have any money”

“None?”

“I’ve got like sixty-something cents”

‘Archie’ shrugged. “This place ain’t exactly classy. That’s enough, go pick something” He sat back down and grabbed his little item scanner from behind the counter, ready and waiting.

The sight of it alone gave Mae several horrifying flashbacks of bagging groceries years back. All the people. All the horrible, shitty people. All of them, wanting to talk to her manager.

Mae tore herself away from the thought, her mind barely intact after the terribly traumatic memory, and ran off down the first of a trio of snack aisles. Not that you could really call them aisles, but whatever. Looked like only the gas station brand was fake, as the hundreds of snacks lining the shelves were all sufficiently sugar filled for her liking.

God, Gregg would have a panic attack in here. Too many choices. Maybe that’s why he worked the Snack Falcon? Toughening himself up? God she could use Gregg here right now. The slurpee machine was up by the front counter, so that was an automatic no. Even if she did have money for it, she wasn’t gonna ask that kid to help her with it.

Mae ran her hand down one particularly cheap looking rack of candy bars, finding that most were still out of her price range, before stopping, staring at a small blue bag of cookies. Oh wow, these things were ancient. She still remembered selling them back in scouts. Actually… well, she remembered that selling these was an act that they did in scouts, but for some reason she couldn’t remember actually doing it. Huh.

She was back up at the counter in seconds, mini-cookie bag in one hand and a fist full of change in the other, both of which she dumped on the counter. “That good enough?”

“That’ll do it” Archie said, scanning the bag, depositing the change, handing Mae back a grand total of one penny, and shoving a receipt in her hand with it. “So whatcha doing out here?”

“Do we really have to do this?”

“Up to you, kid”

Mae groaned aloud once again. “I’m twenty. I’m literally older than you. I could be your college professor in a couple years”

“I’ll be sure to say hi if I see you. Anyway if you want to skip the story you’ll have to buy a teeny bit more than that” Archie said, leaning on the counter with a smug shit-eating grin.

“You don’t have many friends, do you?” Mae asked.

“Excuse you”

Mae rolled her eyes. “My name is Samantha. Samantha Stevenson”

The cashier pulled up his chair and propped his head up in his hands. “Haha, that sounds super fake”

“Who's telling the story here?” Mae asked.

“Right, sorry, please continue bullshitting me”

“I’m just in town for a college party with a friend. We got separated and I’m trying to get back”

Archie snickered. “You ‘got separated’? What, is there a zombie apocalypse outside I didn’t notice?”

“Ugh, are you going to pick apart every little thing I say? I bet you’re gonna go on to major in liberal arts and be buddy buddy with all the sociology teachers. You’re like the  _ worst _ kind of teen”

“Alright, sorry, for real. I’m interested” the teen conceded, waiting patiently with only a dull smirk.

Mae glared, he waited, and so she decided to hop up onto the counter for a seat. “Fine. I wandered off and got lost like… fifteen minutes ago maybe? I’m not really sure”

“Tried calling this friend of yours?”

“We’re from Deep Hollow County. No phones”

“Wow. That is…” He pulled himself up onto the counter, grabbed a cup from the stack, and dispensed himself a blue slurpee from the machine. A far longer process than was comfortable. Only when he finishing capping it off did he finish. “Just miserable sounding”

“Oh yeah it sucks, but it’s home” Mae shrugged. “Can’t go anywhere else”

Archie took a long, uncomfortably loud slurp from his drink, adding “I feel ya, kid” when he stopped to take a breath.

“Don’t feel me. I don’t even like you”

“Can’t stop me. Feels felt. So your friend must be looking for you, right?”

“Nah, she’s busy with her other friends”

Archie suddenly coughed on his drink at what she’d said, clearing his throat and asking “Woah, you got ditched? You came all the way out here from Deep Hollow County and got ditched?”

“I didn’t get ditched, I ditched myself!” Mae yelled. Then, went quiet. Yelling felt… weird, in a mostly empty gas station at night. “I just made some things awkward so I’m like… just giving her space”

“And now you’re lost, wandering out on a snowy night like a lost lamb, right into my store. Gotta tell ya Samantha, your friend sounds like kind of a bitch”

Aaaand any sign of friendliness disappeared from Mae’s face. “Archie, if that is your real name-”

“It is”

“I’m like ten seconds away from strangling you” she hissed.

The teen scooched just a bit farther down the counter, away from Mae. “Sorry, sorry. I’m just saying, kid. Clearly one of you two ain’t respecting ya. And I’m hoping it’s her, ‘cause ya seem like a good enough kid”

“Five seconds"

“Ya know, weird thing, I just realized how much I want to help you get back to your party. You said it was a pizza place right?”

Mae waited, glared, and silently considered actually doing it too. This kid should meet Mom with how much he apparently liked sleuthing and getting involved in her business. Would make a regular pair of detectives. But also he shouldn’t meet her, because… like, no.

Archie swung himself around back into his seat on his side of the counter. “Alright, I don’t know if it’s the one you want but the most popular one is just a while down the road from here. Left on Straight Path, should be on your right side near the end of the block, got it?”

“That’ll work” Mae said.

“Glad to help bring two good friends back together. Need anything else before you go?”

Actually now that he mentioned it… well it’d be kind of a waste not to, since she was already here. Mae sped off, running around the store and looking up and down every aisle until she wound  back up at the front counter. “Where’s the cigarettes?”

The Archie pointed over his shoulder at the display of packs lining the wall behind him. “What kind you want, kid?”

“I don’t really know the brands. Is there one that causes less cancer than normal? Cancer-lite maybe?”

“Not a regular?”

“I’m allergic to these things. Just grabbing them for my friend”

The cashier shrugged, turning around for just a moment to grab a pack, seemingly at random from the wall before placing them on the counter.

“You keep those behind the counter?”

“I just sell ‘em. Boss picks where they’re put. He says it keeps people from stealing them. Says addicts are the most likely to steal”

Mae had heard that herself, but she also had never been in a situation with addicts readily available. “Have you ever been robbed?”

“Probably”

“Not shoplifted from. Like, at gunpoint? ‘Put the money and also the cigarettes in the bag?’”

“Yeah, no. That’s a no. Would be exciting though”

Well that was disappointing. Not that Mae wanted him actually threatened with a gun, but like… still disappointing. “My friend, who smokes these? I’m pretty sure she wouldn’t rob you”

Archie shrugged and ran his scanner over the cigarette pack. “Cool. Tell her I said thanks, I guess”

Then he stood, stared, and waited, just as Mae was doing. Huh.

“So…” The cashier started.

This was kinda awkward. Mae’s ear twitched. “... Yeah” This guy was just staring right at her, being a creep. And a corporate creep too, which was way worse.

The cashier quickly cleared his throat, leaning his crossed arms on the counter. “You gonna pay or…?”

Mae shrugged. “I’m gonna level with you. I was just gonna take these and run, and you’re making it real awkward”

Archie blinked but made no move to stop her. “Ya know, now that you brought it up, I don’t really know how to respond to that”

Mae slooooowly reached out, grabbed the cigarette pack, and pocketed it all while maintaining eye contact with Archie. “Well, I’m gonna do that, so… y’know. Screw you”

“Oh. Okay”

Mae waved a friendly wave and bolted out the store, back down the road she’d come up on.

Okay, just looking for Straight Path. That was easy enough, just… read the signs. She was good at reading.

Okay, Straight Path, there it was coming up, which was much more of a surprise than it probably should have been. Well, that kid was like really annoying but didn’t exactly seem like the lying type. Mae slid to a stop on the corner, checked down both intersections, and did indeed see a the glowing lights of a pizzeria the problem was that Straight was very obviously a main road, leading out onto the bridge. While the rest of the city seemed dead, this road in particular continued to have quite a bit of activity running up and down it so she’d have to refrain from running wildly in the streets. She’d completely forgotten this town even had a bridge to be honest, but there it was in all its glory, going over Red Winder.

Mae ran over to the pizzeria, just in a hunch, only to immediately have her legs slide out from under her and for her to land face down on the sidewalk again. Now, she wasted no time in sitting up, shaking off the snow that had once again collected on her head.

“These boots suck! Seriously how do they even…” Mae began grumbling, stretching her leg to get a good view of the bottom of her boot. It was… pretty much all flattened out. Zero grip. Well that shouldn’t have been much of a surprise given how many years she’d had them. Mom had always said she’d grow into a new pair eventually, but here she was, stuck sitting in the snow, ungrown, with completely worthless boots.

She looked up from where she at, and sighed. “Okay I don’t really know how to feel about this”

Mae could have guessed from the moment she got on this road that it wasn’t the right one. And that sucked. That sucked a lot. On the other hand, the restaurant with its lights still on in front of her had a big glowing Pastabilities sign over the door. And that teen had said this was the best pizza place in the area… which wasn’t wrong, but it wasn’t what she was aiming for. So yeah, confliction.

It was during this time of introspection that the lights in the Pastabilities flicked off. A few seconds later, the front door opened and a worker hobbled on out, his uniform hanging over his shoulder. He stopped briefly to glance at Mae, who was still sitting on the ground. “You alright, kid?”

“I’m twenty”

“Good for you, kid” The stranger shrugged, and went on his way.

Cool.

Mae sighed loudly and hoisted herself up off the ground, shaking off the snow once again collecting in her fur. Okay, this was still fine. She remembered the bridge from last time she was here with Bea. Just had to get to it and… uh…

Mae had taken about one solid step forward when her balance was completely flipped on its head. She held herself still and held her eyes shut, feeling her head spinning in such a way that she might actually puke. After a thirty seconds, give or take, it faded. She opened her eyes, and immediately fell back on her ass, eyes wide as dinner plates. The air was filled with flakes of white, the street was lined with little pale yellow lights, the road going up to the bridge had dark machines running up and down, loud, so loud.

And then it was over, and Mae was standing on the side of the road in front of the closed Pastabilities again. She shook her head off and started running to the bridge without a second thought.

* * *

Finally as the road began to sharply curve upward, Mae hopped the concrete barrier on its side to get off the sidewalk. She could clearly see the river now, being about fifty feet away from it and all. So just follow the river, and… and…

Mae’s thoughts had been pulled away, as there finally knowing where she had to go, she had looked up at the bridge itself. And though it appeared to be a speck, she could clearly make out the figure of a man standing on the railing overlooking the river, well out over the water.

“Okay, this isn’t your problem” She told herself. Just go. “You’ve gotta get back to Bea” she continued, while hopping the barrier again and running up the road, following it onto the bridge. Not that Mae knew what to do exactly, but… something?

It took several full minutes of running and her legs burning enough to sorta equalize out with how freaking cold it was for Mae to finally come to a stop, gasping for air on the walkway of the bridge. There, about twenty feet from her, was a man looking like he was in his fifties. He’d been staring the whole time she approached, just standing on the bridge’s railing. One slip from death.

He waited patiently and watched with some interest as Mae caught her breath. Finally she took one deep inhale, and said “Hey”

“Yup” he replied, watching still.

And instantly Mae’s mind blanked. What exactly what she supposed to say? Why did it have to be her saying it? Why weren’t any of the cars slowing down? “So, uh…”

“Mm?”

“Okay I don’t really know what I’m supposed to say here”

The old timer stared for an uncomfortably long time. Then he mumbled out “I’m not gonna jump” through a thick beard.

“Oh thank god” Mae clambered up onto the railing beside the man, dangling her legs off the side. Just like any of the rooftops back in Possum Springs. “So what are you doing up here?”

The man shrugged, and sat himself down on the railing a short distance away. He grumbled something under his breath and fell silent.

Mae waited for him to actually use… like, a word or two, and added “I don’t know what that means”

“What are you doin’ here, kid?” 

“Actually I’m 20”

The old timer coughed loudly into his hand. Coughing, coughing… and still going. Geez. “You get to my age, everyone’s ‘Kid’” he coughed out, wiping his face off on his sleeve. Definitely a smoker by his voice. Wonder if Bea would sound like that in twenty years.

“I just came up here to see why you were up here”

The man grumbled to himself again.

Mae kicked her legs, holding tightly to the railing so she wouldn’t slide off. “I feel like I’m supposed to have something profound to say so you don’t jump”

The man glared over. “I’m not gonna jump”

“You’re kinda acting like you are”

The man stood up on the railing again, leaning over the edge an amount that easily made Mae clench her cheeks just waiting for something terrible to happen. Then he leaned back, and he was right as rain. “Nah. I’ve done this before”

“Do you want to?”

The man shrugged. “I go back and forth. Some days are bad. Some days are… less bad. Sometimes I come out here just to feel what it’s like”

“And you don’t jump?” Mae asked. The man looked over with a look seriously pondering Mae’s intelligence. “Sorry, that was a stupid question”

“Sometimes it’s just freein’ to hang around on the edge”

“Oh yeah, I could see that. Back home I climbed up on the rooftops all the time”

He laughed briefly, then fell into another coughing fit. “You gonna jump from ‘em?” He asked when it finished.

Well. He had her there. “Nah” Mae admitted. Now she kinda felt stupid about having run all the way up here. It’s not like she could’ve known. Besides, this meant was a good person, definitely. Not wanting to watch people die meant that automatically. “So like…”

“Sometimes I wanna jump. I tell myself if I’m afraid, that means it ain’t time yet” The old timer spoke up. He sat himself back down on the railing. “Means I still got somethin’ worth hangin’ around for”

She was kinda terrified right now so that answered the question for her. “That’s a pretty good way to look at it” Mae admitted. And it was a little nuts, but still good. “So… what are you hanging around for tonight?”

He shrugged. “Football season ain’t over yet”

Mae waited, watched, and said “Nice”

And together they sat on the railing, looking out over Red Winder, both collectively having decided they were afraid.

“I’m kinda afraid too. But like… more that I’m lost”

“Probably ain’t over the river” The old man grumbled.

“Okay so like… I ditched myself tonight” Mae started. The old man watched, patiently not interrupting unlike some kids. “Like, I’m in town for a party with my best friend. And I made things awkward for her so I ditched myself. Then I met some kid at a gas station and I guess… like, does that mean I don’t have any self respect?”

The man thought it over, and concluded. “What are you askin’ me for?”

Mae sighed. “Hey I didn’t ask to hear your sob story either. You’re old, aren’t you supposed to be full of wisdom and stuff?”

He grumbled something unintelligible again.

“Fine, forget it. Just wanted you to not die and all” Mae groaned, pulling herself back over to return to standing on solid ground.

“I think it means you’re a mighty good friend, kid” the old timer spoke up. He wasn’t looking anymore, just staring out over the river again. “Maybe I done so much runnin’ in my time that I’m biased, but… sometimes gettin’ away is the right thing to do. Even when it hurts”

Mae thought it over. Long and hard, and decided that it wasn’t going to matter so long as she was stuck here. “Thanks. I’m gonna go” Mae started back down towards town, only to stop and turn. “Hey do you know the way to the pizza place?”

“Which one?” He asked.

“Oh my god how many does this town have?”

“Good question. I could go for pizza” The old timer chuckled under his breath, then spun himself around and pulled himself back onto the bridge as well. “What’s your name, kid?”

“Samantha Stevenson”

“You said you ain’t from around here, Samantha Stevenson?”

“Nope”

The man grumbled once more, then dug through his pocket. It emerged a second later with a cigarette, an obvious dummy one now that Mae knew the difference. “Don’t know what you’re doin’ out here, kid. But don’t go tellin’ people that sort of thing”

“Why? You gonna mug me?”

“You got anythin’ good on you?”

“Pack of cigarettes, some cookies, and one penny”

He actually looked like he was considering it for a second, before shrugging. “Nah. You’re a good kid. Get on home” And just like that he turned and headed down the opposite way, towards the far end of the bridge.

Mae watched him go, a warm feeling in her chest from her good deed of the day. She started back down the way she came. Had to make up for lost time. And then she stopped maybe fifteen feet later. “Wait did I almost get robbed?”

* * *

 

God it’s cold. You’d think the snow would really have to be picking up for it to be this cold. Like, there’d have to be mighty winds and the air would need to be all white from a blizzard, but nope. Just the gentle snowfall over the gentle sleepy town.

“This sucks so much ass” Mae groaned, following the river. This would be so much easier if she had a boat. Then she could just let it carry her and relax until she found that bench she and Bea had seen the bride from. But then Mae also didn’t know how to use a boat. “I’m pretty sure they don’t have the big wooden steering wheels anymore, so if it got away from the shore I’d just get stuck and… I dunno, I guess I’d just die?”

One thing’s for certain, she was not getting in that water. Well it hadn’t been the plan, but still. She probably wouldn’t even shower when she got back home unless she could feel it burning her. That’s how cold it was.

So it was while following the river that she came to a stop, rounding the corner of a building and finding a nestled little indentation behind whatever shops these were. There was a flaming garbage can, surrounded by three people who looked a lot like the drifters she was now familiar seeing out by the abandoned Food Donkey. The various discarded cans and bottled, along with a set up camping tent however all said that they lived here.

But they had fire. Mae didn’t have fire. So Mae was being beaten out by hobos, which was like… an entirely new low. Not as low as it could be, but she didn’t even want to think about how much worse tonight could get. She approached the trio who were by now watching her, keeping a safe distance. This is it, Mae. You either join the hobos or get murdered by hobos. You always sorta knew you’d be faced with this dilemma one day.

“Hey, do you guys mind if I join you?”

“Nah, come on. It’s no biggie” One of the three said, waving her over. Actually that was kinda disappointing in a weird way. Mae approached, shivering as she did, and huddled around the fire with the rest of them. “Down on your luck, kid?” The same hobo asked.

“Adult. I’m an adult” she answered.

“Hey, me too!” Snickered the woman hobo, the one of the three who actually looked around Mae’s age despite the grime on her. Speaking of which, Mae was suddenly thankful her nose was too cold to smell anything. “Workin’ on a mortgage and everything”

“Yeah yeah, great, bust my balls” Mae sighed, newly annoyed.

“Don’t mind her. Just teasin’” The third spoke up. An older gentleman, who looked like he hadn’t been out here as long as the others. That or he hid it better. “You run off from home, or…?”

Mae shrugged. She leaned on the fire trash for just a moment, letting the warm metal heat her chest up through the jacket. “Just lost. And it’s way too friggin cold”

“Need help finding your way? Not doing anything else tonight” The first hobo asked.

“I think I’ve got it now actually. Just gotta walk is all”

“Lost, no car, not even lettin’ a stranger help. You’re just asking for a bad night out” The ‘adult’ snickered.

“Well don’t hang too long around us” The clean hobo mentioned. “Longer you stay around the fire, less you’ll want to leave. It’s late out, you shouldn’t test the weather”

Mae patted down her hair, wiping the snow from it. “Oh I know the weather sucks. It’s been snowing for like… like…” Huh. “How long  _ have _ I been out here?”

The first of the trio shrugged. “Hell, I don’t even know what time it is”

Mae squinted at them, accusingly. This was all too familiar. “Stop that”

“Stop what?” The woman asked.

Okay she was just messing around now. Mae glared. “You’re all talking in order. Like those goth teens back in Possum Springs”

“Hell, you’re from Possum Springs? I was out there ‘bout… I don’t know, say a month or two back? Good town” The first hobo shrugged.

Okay, cycle broken, good. Mae smirked. Now he was lying, but it was a good lie. Possum Springs needed as many of those as it could get.

Mae stretched her arms wide, finally relaxing after all the shivering and bundling up had been wearing on her the whole night. “Well, I better get… uh…” She’d started backing from the fire to get back on her path. And suddenly she was on the ground, hearing the scrambling of hobo feet running over.

Six feet rushing at her, stomping together in one big messy orchestra. Mae looked up from the dirt and saw them standing over her. Unfamiliar figures, big scared eyes, all reaching down at her. All of it, all of them just reaching out as one big mess. All if it falling apart, losing meaning, just…

“Kid!” Mae was back. The clean hobo was snapping his fingers over her face. He sighed and took her by the shoulders, hauling her back over to the trash fire. For some reason, she didn’t even bother stopping him. She was tired.

When he released her, Mae sat up, scratching her head. It wasn’t funny banging it on the ground anymore. Well it never had been, but… yeah. “I gotta get back” Mae said, standing herself up”

“Listen kid” The clean hobo went on. “I don’t think you’re in any condition to go anywhere. You got anyone out here with you? Parents, siblings, friends?”

“I’m in town with my friend” She shook her head again, firmly rooting herself back in reality. “I just wandered off and got sidetracked. It’s fine, really, I’ve gotta get back”

“Geez, kid, she must be worried sick” The woman snorted.

“It’s fine, I ditched myself”

The woman shook her head. “And that makes it better? Hell, kid, the two of you are out here all the way from Possum Springs and you just wandered off? I’d be worried like hell over you”

“She’s with…” Mae started. Wait, no. “Actually, no, I don’t have to give you guys my life story”

“Wasn’t askin’ for it” the first hobo shrugged.

“I’ve gotta back” And that’s all that mattered. Mae shook herself off, then hurried away. “Thanks for the fire!” She called back.

Away from the fire, away from the hobos, back out to the river. Just get to their spot. Just get back to Bea and the party and tonight could just end right there. Hell, Mae would be more than happy to just sleep in the car at this point.

She trotted down the riverside for the next five minutes, cold slowly reaching in and replacing the warmth of the fire. And suddenly, there she was.

Mae had emerged out into a grassy clearing, running all the way down into the water from the roadside. Too small to be called a park, but a spot that definitely had no other use in a city like this. And in the middle of it was a bench.

Mae walked over and took a seat on the back of it, looking out to the river. And waited.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter probably had the absolute least amount of notes beforehand, and very little editing. It was pretty much the same start to finish, and from what little I did edit I didn't actually cut much.
> 
> Gotta be honest, not much to say about this one. The first chapter definitely took me the longest to write since I was not only doing that but jumping around the entire story planning things out, giving little details proper leadups and payoffs. After the first chapter, the rest of them probably took me about six hours each over a couple days. I only bring this up because while that also applies to this chapter, this was also the only one to absolutely suck to write. Mae really needs people to bounce off for optimal ease of writing. People who aren't just total strangers with custom personalities.
> 
> I will however mention that I wrote this chapter, then proofread this chapter, then had a friend proofread this chapter, then came to upload this chapter and still found it riddled with errors I've been trying to fix last minute. Such is life.


	3. I Missed You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where things get serious.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was very uncomfortable to write. Going for accuracy was my main goal, and I guess the truth is that NITW gets serious sometimes. It's easy for me to get into the lighthearted groove. So when I had to write out this chapter and the whole lighthearted element was toned down, it felt... off. Sweet, but off.

Hmmm.

Mae adjusted herself on the bench, looked around, and waited.

Hmm.

She stood, took her place a few feet away to look at it, and waited again.

Hm.

She walked over, cleared off the snow from the opposite side of the bench, and took a seat staring out at the water.

Nope, still nothing.

She stood atop it, then did the same balancing on one leg. Then laid her whole body across it. Then considered sitting underneath it, and promptly discarded that idea. She stood next to it, staring with some frustration, and gave it a quick kick which immediately sent her sliding onto her back.

Okay this might have been a little bit dumb.

Still, Mae looked over her shoulders, confirmed she was alone at this little riverbank, and posed herself several more times with the bench looking out over Red Winder. Nothing.

“Shouldn’t I feel something by now?” She asked no one in particular, taking her seat back on her end of the bench. Yet of course no one gave any answer, and she was just stuck sitting there with her butt growing cold and snow slowly piling on her head getting caught in her fur.

Mae looked over the area, then ran off back towards the street. A few crashes of trash cans and the blaring of a car horn later, Mae returned to the riverside with an armful of garbage. She set up the big black bag on Bea’s side of the bench, squeezing it so it sat up nice and straight and leaning it against a cracked baseball bat she’d found so it wouldn’t fall over. A small discarded coffee cup made for a decent nose and mouth. A couple bottle caps for eyes, a few rocks for osteoderms. She tried bending a few sticks into an ankh, only to give up after three of them snapped and settled for just gathering up some snow and making the shape on the trash bag with it instead.

Hmm.

Mae dug out a cigarette from the pack and placed it into the cup-mouth. Not lit, but she wasn’t sure she needed to start a fire. Yet. Not that she couldn’t, she was pretty certain she could cause a fire in  _ any _ situation with enough willpower and bad ideas.

Then Mae took her seat back on her end of the bench and waited again, watching her trash-Bea. And waited, and waited… and waited.

“This is stupid” she sighed. She stood up on the bench and gave the trash a quick kick, knocking the whole delicate piece over back into a pile of garbage. It didn’t really make her feel better, so she sulked back on the bench again.

Just, like… wasn’t this place supposed to be important? There’s the bridge out in the distance, lights running up and down it. There’s Red Winder river, and despite the frozen edges not letting her see below the surface she knew all the rocks under had been turned orange. There was even Trash Bea, or at least there had been before Mae destroyed it. Probably for the best, it’d been giving her shifty looks.

It all felt so very much the same, and for some reason Mae was still just sitting here feeling… absolutely nothing.

Well, what was she supposed to feel anyway? They’d only spent a few minutes here. Guess she just wanted it to feel important, ‘cause that’s how it felt at the time. Back when Mae ruined her best friend’s night and was told she was hated. Back when she saved that night and was told she was a genuinely good person. Back when she promised not to do the same thing here tonight.

So shouldn’t she be feeling  _ something _ ?

And still at the end of the day this was just a place. Just a thing. And as much as she wanted it to be important…

Mae’s head dipped for a moment, before she shook it and snapped herself back to reality. No. It was special in its own way. Not just a thing.

With a quick hop, Mae was up from the bench. “Alright screw this place. I’ve got better standards than this, I don’t need to take insulting memories from a bench” If her fingers weren’t freezing she’d have thought to look around for something to wreck the bench with, but right now it just seemed like a waste of effort. Not that it wouldn’t have been a waste of effort anyway, but it was the principle of the thing. Or something.

Mae trudged away from the riverbank back towards the road, stopping at the first telephone pole she saw. Jesus. It had spokes in it or whatever they were called, all the way up to the top. Pole steps? Why didn’t the poles around home have these? Mae grumbled under her breath as she started climbing up the side of the pole. Spoiled town, spoiled rich kids with their easily accessible telephone poles. Finally she lifted herself up on top, balancing on the beam with her arms extended.

Now, she didn’t actually know the way back to the party from here, but she’d come here once from the party before, so… just do that in reverse. She’d only really run one direction last time, so it should just be a straight shot away from the river.

Mae took one last look down at the riverbank at their special bench. At… just their regular bench. A regular old snow covered bench surrounded by piles of trash in piles of snow. The bench that didn’t actually mean anything, where they’d had a fight that didn’t really matter here in a town where nothing was the different, and everyone was still miserable. Where everything was the same, and nothing was the same, and her mind was blanking, and she couldn’t feel her fingers, and she took a step out into the wire to get away from this place and a loud snapping was heard.

And Mae fell for just a moment before her whole body was caught up in her coat. A second later she was tumbling out of that, and before Mae had any idea of what was happening she was face down in the snow on the sidewalk. God it was cold.

She lifted her head first, blinking back to reality. Well, trying to. It was all just… kind of a mess. Mae rolled onto her back, looking up at the telephone pole with her winter coat stuck on top of it by its hoodie. She hadn’t even realized she’d lost it.

With a sigh she stood, and winced as a minor pain rang from her wrist when she tried to hoist herself upright with it. Wow did it hurt, but… also didn’t. Every alarm in her brain was going off saying that it hurt, but it was just kind of a thing. Just a pain, and she didn’t really feel it. And her body was numb from the cold, cold that she didn’t really feel.

Mae wiped the snow off her face and found that her arm was wet with snot and tears that she hadn’t felt.

She wiped herself off a bit more erratically and stomped back over towards the riverbank, taking her seat on the bench again. Needless to say, nothing had changed. She flicked a claw out from her index finger and ran it down the lengthy of the bench, leaving a long, ugly indent. Now it was ruined, right? So she should have been upset.

Mae yelled at nothing in particular, then hopped up and rounded the bench again, grabbing the baseball bat from the pile of trash. She was angry,  _ that _ she felt. But it wasn’t angry at the right things. She was angry because she wasn’t angry.

She gave one mighty overhead swing at the bench, bending it inward as the wood snapped. There she stood, breathing heavily and staring and feeling  _ nothing _ . So she wound up again, and yelled just to get it all out, and absolutely wailed on the bench, bending and snapping and breaking it more and more with each swing while her wrist gradually cried out a pain she didn’t feel and her fingers complained of a numbness she couldn’t feel and her brain whined that she was ruining a special spot that meant absolutely nothing.

After a minute she realized her bat had snapped in half without her noticing, and so she tossed it off into the river and just grabbed hold of the twisted wood remaining of the bench. Her claws helped to get a good grip and gradually yank and tear and pull it apart, bits of broken wood gradually covering the area until finally Mae sat in the snow feeling nothing from her bleeding fingers and nothing from her burning wrist. And she cried, and sat there, and waited while the whole world turned to shit around her.

A world where the snow was just a beautiful white, the trash was all a collection of colors, and everything was just shapes.

* * *

 

“Hey, good on you for making it work”

“Haha, yeah, thanks”

The time was 12:29 AM. So far, nothing had gone wrong. Definitely a welcome surprise what with how the night had gotten started. It definitely would have been going better if Bea didn’t have to keep checking over her shoulder though.

“Really though. The biggest store in Possum Springs?” Brian asked.

He and Chris sat on one end of the table while Jackie and Bea lounged at the other, while the rest of the part around them had gradually withered out over the past  two hours. Where once there had been a sea of people there was now a mostly empty dance floor with only a few stragglers hanging around talking amongst themselves and regretting their choices from the night.

Bea shrugged. “I’m pretty sure that’s not true. Could we not talk about work?”

“Yeah I get ya. I don’t even want to think about Monday morning” Chris shrugged. From what they’d said,  _ something _ big was happening at the end of the weekend, at least as far as their classes went. And somehow Bea had missed hearing it after asking thrice already.

Speaking of missing out on the conversation, Bea’s attention had once again been drawn to just blindly looking around the basement for something that was very clearly missing.

“So…” Chris coughed out.

“Hey, I’ve got an idea” Jackie spoke up, standing. “Just a second. Bea, try not to wear these guys out alright?” She joked, before hurrying off and disappearing.

Jackie returned with a set of red cups and a clear bottle of pink fluid with some fancy label that even Bea couldn’t quite make out at first glance. “Here, to celebrate. Finally managed to drag Bea out here and have a good time” Jackie explained, pouring a round for everyone.

A thick, sweet scent of peaches absolutely polluted the air as she did. Well that and the heavily masked scent of some strong alcohol. Whatever it was, it must’ve tasted great and felt like shit afterwards.

When finished, Jackie lifted her own cup in a mock toast, to which Bea shook her head. “Thanks but I have to drive home later. Maybe next time”

“Really? Mae can’t drive?” Brian asked, taking his own cup.

“Nope. And I wouldn’t let her if she could”

And there were a few quick chuckles at Mae’s expense from Bea’s little joke, not that it did much to make any of them really feel much more comfortable”

Jackie quietly shook her head and shoved the rest of the bottle in Bea’s hand. “Well, here. I planned on getting you wasted, and I am getting you wasted, Beatrice”

Brian dipped from his cup. “Be-ah-trice” he tested the name out again, like it was some alien word.

Not that it helped, Bea’s mind was off in its own little world again. She’d given some nonspecific thanks for the bottle that she’d in all likelihood never drink, but that was about it.

Chris cleared his voice again and asked “Where’d she run off to anyway?” He hadn’t said the name, but they all knew who he was talking about. “I haven’t seen her since you got here”

“She’s… somewhere around here” Bea answered. And again she was looking over her shoulder. The party, if it could even be called that anymore, was thinned out to the point they could clearly see everyone who was still hanging around. And wasn’t hanging around, as it were.

Chris, who’d joined in looking around, asked “You sure?”

“I’ll keep an eye out” Jackie proposed, leaning forward against the table. “Anyway, Bea you said you were-“

“Actually, I’m gonna be right back” Bea suddenly pulled her seat away from the table and stood up.

“She might be up in the pizzeria if it’s still open?” Brian added, unmoving.

Jackie took hold of Bea’s sleeve. “Yeah, she’s probably there, it’s fine”

“I’ll just be a minute. You guys just… chill, okay?” Bea tugged her arm free, and stepped away from the table, bottle tucked under her arm. She turned and hurried back to the stairs, up and out of the party’s remains.

“No biggie! You do what you need to do!” Brian called after her.

Then, besides the last few dull murmurs is conversation in the corners of the basement, it felt silent. Jackie groaned loudly and laid her head in her hands.

Brian and Chris gave some uncomfortable glances at once another, before Chris asked “So… are those two like, an item, or…?”

“Man, I have no idea”

Jackie groaned again, stood up, and stalked off away from the table.

* * *

 

Well the parking lot was empty and the pizzeria was closed. Those were about what she’d expected anyway, along with it having gotten even colder out.

Still fine, Mae could have gone back and fallen asleep in the car. Well, Bea had locked the doors and still had her keys, but also this was Mae we’re dealing with so that didn’t mean jack shit.

One quick lonely trek back up the street to her car confirmed that Mae had in fact not broken her windows with a rock or picked the lock with a coat hanger. Which was… still not great. Where the hell is she?

Bea climbed inside and started it up, the engine rumbling to life while she glanced over and spied Mae’s therapy journal wedged in the corner of the passenger seat.

Yeah. That was a bad sign.

There’s only one place she actually knew of that Mae might be. Not that Bea would have put it past the feline to just be wandering around talking to strangers all night, but this way had more certainty. God, they needed to start carrying phones. That, or she needed to put a bell on this girl.

* * *

 

Bea slammed the car door shut behind her, keeping the heat on low inside. In and out, five minutes.

She was parked just across the street from the riverbank, and to be honest she might have just kept driving had she not spotted the flag that was Mae’s coat flapping from a telephone pole.  _ ‘I am  _ not _ climbing that’ _ she immediately decided and headed down the path.

It took all of five seconds for Bea to stop, stunned as Mae came into view. Just sat down in the snow, surrounded by trash and broken wood while staring out at Red Winder. The scene might have been kind of nostalgic had she not completely wrecked the place.

Bea sighed and approached. “You can be such a dick sometimes, you know that?” She said, standing over the shivering girl.

No response.

“Come on. You scared the hell out of me, lets get out of here before you catch something”

Silence.

Bea sighed and crouched down beside Mae. She still was definitely not going to sit in the snow. “Looks like you had a more exciting night than me”

“You should’ve stayed. Or like… told me where you were going at least”

“I was right. You weren’t around, and tonight was a lot less entertaining”

“I missed you”

And no matter what she said, Mae wasn’t doing much in the way of responding. She was just sitting there shivering.

Bea sighed and put a hand on Mae’s shoulder. “Seriously Mae, you’re going to get sick if you-”

Mae turned to look at her, and Bea flinched away. Her large cat eyes now pinpricks, looking directly at Bea yet seeing nothing. Her damaged ear twitched from what she’d heard despite having not have listened to any of it.

“Oh.” was all Bea got out, standing and backing away. Okay, that’s fine. She knew this could happen. She’d looked this up, it was fine. Just…

God, this was so definitely not okay.

Okay, first thing’s first, let’s just… make sure she doesn’t freeze. Bea backed away until Mae stopped watching, back up to street. The pole steps were freezing, but made it nice and safe for Bea to reach the top of the telephone pole and unlodge Mae’s coat. Climbing sucked. How did Mae do this all the time? Bea was all too happy to touch down on solid ground again.

So now that that was done… there wasn't really any stalling left to do. She just had to get it on Mae. Just… sort of had to not completely freak Mae out and get this done.

A minute later Bea was approaching Mae from behind again, speaking loudly, clearly. “Mae, it’s me alright?” And being greeted by no responses she was holding the coat open. “I’m just gonna get this on you, okay?” Bea went on. Mae was really being an ass, making her do all the work and carry the conversation both.

With a deep breath, Bea leaned in and wrapped the coat around Mae’s shoulders. Less than a second later it was off again, and Mae was on her feet a short way from Bea. She was hissing, staring crying, completely untrusting. Mae was backing away from her. She was close to the newly frozen riverside.

Bea froze in place. “Okay! Okay, Mae, listen. I need you to listen to me alright?” Mae stopped for just a moment. Bea took a step back. Anything to not scare her while her bastard of a brain was doing this. This poor, cursed scary fucking girl. “I need you to take a deep breath. Just take a second, okay?”

Through her shivering, Mae stared, nodded, and took one pathetically small breath. She was trying, that was good. It wasn’t helping.

“I don’t know what you’re feeling right now, but I‘m still me. Not just lines, not just shapes, alright? I’m here for you”

Mae waited, and cried, and stared. Her ear twitched from the words she heard but did not understand. Then took one step forward, against the storm in her mind. And the moment her boot touched down, it completely slid out from under her and Mae tumbled back towards the water.

Shit shit shit shit.

Mae's body was halfway submerged, not even finished splashing before two quick hands grabbed hold of her arms and yanked her back out onto solid ground. It didn’t really matter though, any even slight sense of calm was gone from Mae’s mind. She was immediately clawing at Bea’s grip. “I got you, it’s alright, it’s me, I got you!” Bea repeated over and over, trying to haul both Mae and herself back towards the car. God, that was all it took and Mae’s clothes were heavy, freezing, completely soaked through. Shit.

Bea lifted Mae up for just a moment to wrap an arm around her and better drag her along, and through the many hisses from the cat she felt a set of teeth sink into her arm through her sleeve. And god did that hurt like hell. Shit.

No time to think about it. As much as Bea wanted to just drop her, that was no longer an option. Mae could be terrified, she could fight and scratch and bite all she wanted, but none of that mattered now. Mae was going to freeze. Shit.

Shit. Shit. Shit. These thoughts repeated over and over all the way up to the car. Bea had to wrench her arm free from Mae’s teeth just long enough to yank open the car door and haul them both inside. She turned a dial on her dashboard, and the car’s heater turned up nice and loud to the point Bea could no longer hear her own thoughts. She hated setting it that high. She could barely drive with it like that.

So for right now, Bea wouldn’t drive. She shoved Mae into the passenger seat where the cat was all too quick to curl up, quietly sobbing. Or, loudly. Hard to tell. And Bea reached around to grab her laptop from the back which she flicked on. This thing was such a piece of shit, took forever to boot up… she didn’t know where any WiFi spots were in this town. Not like Possum Springs.

Focus.

There was a weak signal here, but that’d work. Hypothermia. What to do with someone suffering hypothermia. She’d done a hundred god damn searches on derealization in the past month and not a single one on hypothermia. The two were conflicting, one had to be dealt with now. Okay, okay, be calm, you’ve got this. You were valedictorian in your class. You’re the smartest, strongest person this girl knows. She’s got such shit taste in people.

Maybe it was just easy to be calm because the fan from the heater was drowning out every panicked thought that came into Bea’s mind. No heating packs, no warm drinks, no spare clothes. Well, Bea’s were a hell of a lot drier than Mae’s, for whatever good that was?

She thought it over and took a deep breath. This was gonna suck. This was going to suck so hard. Still, she was suddenly happy to have been wearing the extra layers today.

It was kind of screwed up. Suddenly after her tumble, Mae was cold to the touch, but so completely sapped of energy that she gave little resistance to Bea disrobing her and being dressed again in an ever familiar black dress with an ankh over the chest. Never did it seem more fitting. Thank god it was more than large enough to cover Mae’s whole body. Thank god Mae was absolutely tiny.

The shirt Bea had on underneath was smaller. Shorter sleeves. It showed off the grotesque, bleeding bite mark that had been left in her arm, she grabbed a few napkins from the glove compartment and held them over the wound.

Bea left Mae’s coat laying in the back seat. It was dry, but also frigid and kept all the hot air out. Instead she wrapped her scarf around Mae several times over. As though trying to tie her into a ball as Mae had since curled into the shape of one.

And finally she was… done?

Bea opened the laptop to check again. It didn’t seem done, Mae was still a wreck. Bea’s arm still hurt. Everything was still shitty. Guess there’s no miracle cure for that.

Bea tossed the wet clothes in the back seat with Mae’s coat and scooched herself over into the passenger seat. Mae wasn’t exactly doing much in the way of being dangerous, so for right now at least Bea could hug her. Just… hug her. Quietly warm up the frozen girl and whisper that she was alright, it would all be okay, none of which could actually be heard over the fan. Maybe it was more for Bea.

And they waited in the very loud silence while hoping things would just turn normal again. Mae should be normal soon, probably. Well, maybe if nothing had happened anyway. Bea didn’t really know how long she’d be waiting now. She watched the clock in the car instead.

12:58, 12:59, 1:00, 1:01, This was going to drive her crazy. Bea shut her eyes instead and took a deep breath. That was way better. She could just feel Mas go from freezing to only terribly cold, over however long it was. From madly shivering to only severe shivering.

Bea opened her eyes again when she thought she’d heard something.

“What?” She asked.

There it was again, and so she turned down the heat to the next highest setting. She could hear again. Mae repeated her mumble into Bea’s shirt. Still not loud enough.

“I still can’t hear you”

Mae gave one mighty inhale, and pulled her face free, leaving a nice snotty stain on Bea’s shirt. “Nightmare eyes”

Bea raised an eyebrow. Then it clicked in her head, and despite how utterly shitty things were, she found it in her to chuckle. “Alright. Let’s go” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story was named The Perfect Storm for this chapter. My attempt to bring about the perfect cocktail of sadness for miss Borowski. I read a bunch of existing fics on this site and wow there are some good ones. One of the only things that kept bugging me though was the deal with Mae's mental health conditions. I usually felt that in the stories it appeared in, it could be removed entirely without affecting the overall plot which was usually a bad sign. Her episodes would either be too easily triggered or too easily dealt with. It was never enough to ruin what I thought were genuinely good stories, but that thought was what made me want to write this one. It started with the desire to write a proper "episode" for Mae.
> 
> Did I do it? Probably not. I looked a lot into the common beliefs of what Mae had, and a lot were close but not quite the same as how she described her own issues. I tried to keep to a few factors, particularly how long such episodes last, how they're triggered, and how to treat them. On the other hand since what Mae describes is somewhat different from other descriptions I found, I ultimately kept her view kind of vague here but moreso leaning towards what she described instead of what some random website online told me it should be like.
> 
> This chapter was pretty much redone entirely, top to bottom over and over to get it to a point I was satisfied with. Half-satisfied maybe. It's a serious topic I don't claim to be an expert on, so I just kept going until it made sense. Until it was believable. In the end I can't keep looking back on these things, the more I do the worse I feel. If I keep redoing every sentence in every paragraph over and over trying to make them absolutely perfect, I'll never be happy. Sometimes these chapters feel like a compromise, but at least ones I'm happy with in the moment I've completed them.


	4. Broken Together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things get nice again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just two good friends talking for about 5.8k words depending on the word counter you use. Really. This chapter is mostly dialogue. It's also my favorite.

“This wasn’t the deal. You said we’d leave”

“Yeah, except we never actually made a deal”

“You and your business contracts. Corporate life has changed you, Bea”

“Caught me. One of the first things you learn in retail is how to trick your friends by not actually saying anything”

“And to think I trusted you. You’ve gone over to the dark side”

Bea put the car into park, it being the only source of light left in this quiet sleepy town. “No but seriously I’m going to retch if we stay in here with your wet boot smell”

They were parked just outside of the closed pizzeria for a quick stop in with Jackie against Mae’s wishes. Mae, out of protest or just preparing to have to wear them again had been holding her wet boots in front of the heat fan, drying them quickly and also filling the car with their vile smell.

Mae sniffled and wiped her face down for what must have been the fifth time in as many minutes. Just couldn’t get comfortable.

“Come on. In and out, ten minutes. Promise” Bea said, already with one foot on the ground outside.

“Is that a corporate Bea promise?”

“I’ll let you write up the terms and everything”

Mae laughed, just a little, through her miserable expression. “Pass”

A minute later after forcing her boots back on, they were back out in the snow with Mae back in her slightly warmer winter coat. It did a poor job hiding Bea’s ankh shirt given that it was about the size of her whole body, but honestly Mae wasn’t going to complain.

Mae was back go shivering in seconds. “Man, I better not be ruined for cold weather now. I used to love the snow"

“We’ll give it a day or two” Bea shrugged. She lead the two of them back to the stairs, where they came to a stop at the sight of Jackie at the bottom locking the door behind her on her way out with a key she then dropped into the bag hanging under her arm.

Jackie similarly froze when she saw the two of them. “Oh, hey.” She said. “... What happened to you?”

“I fell in the river” Mae mumbled.

“You’re  _ bleeding _ ” Jackie pointed out to Bea, who held her hand over the bite mark in her arm.

“She fell in the river” Bea answered as well.

Jackie shook her head. “Yeah, whatever. Well we’re done here for tonight so… Night, Bea”

“Hey, Jackie, can we get in there for like five minutes?” Bea asked.

“I said we’re done for tonight. I’ve got shit to do in the morning”

“Five minutes, Jackie. Please”

Jackie sighed and pulled the bag from her shoulder, rifling through it before tossing the keys to Bea. “You’ve got ten minutes. Don’t leave me waiting out here”

Bea lead Mae down the steps and unlocked the door, letting her in first. “Thanks, Jackie. You’re the best” she said, stopping in the doorway. Jackie didn’t exactly look pleased by the compliment. “... And do you have like any tweezers on you or…?”

Jackie looked Bea up and down. “You’re a real piece of work, Bea” she sighed, before producing a set of tweezers from her bag and handing them off.

Inside, Mae was already seated with her head down on one of the few mostly clean tables. She was staring at the ceiling, or more specifically at the Longest Night lights that hung all over it and down the walls for light. She complained about it before, but it was hard not to like these things. Setting them up at home was one of the few things she actually did to help around the house.

The whole basement was completely different when it was empty like this. No music, no chatter, just a nice peaceful quiet and an awful smell. Bea took a seat across from Mae with the tweezers in hand.

“Gimme your hands” She ordered.

Mae laid her arms across the table, still staring up while Bea grabbed one of Mae’s hands and began using the tweezers to remove the multitude of splinters stuck in Mae’s fingers.

Mae winced when Bea’s grip on her wrist sent a shock through her body. Actually, that wrist was starting to look fatter… sorta. She’d just… not think about that. “I gotta not use my hands? What am I supposed to do then?” She asked.

Bea stopped for a moment, got up, and left the table. She returned ten seconds later with a bowl still full of candy almonds which she pushed over in front of Mae’s face. “Enjoy”

Mae shrugged, bit the side of the bowl to pull it closer, and laid her chin inside it to get as many of the candies as she could within range of her tongue.

Had she not been focused on her work, Bea probably would have found that gross. Well, she still did a little bit. “You’re like the only one I know who likes these things” she said.

“Wha?” Mae mumbled with a mouthful of candy muffling her words. “Nuh ah dun”

“Seriously? I thought you said like… during your prom story you were just shoveling them down”

Mae swallowed down what she had before speaking again. “I don’t have to like something to eat it. I don’t like beer either”

Bea shrugged. “Huh. Maybe you’ve got some sixth sense telling you bad things will happen if you eat foods you don’t like”

“Oh god don’t tell me that, I don’t need the excuse. Have you seen how chubby I am?”

“Yes, I have” A sly smile appeared on Bea’s face. “And speaking of, you should really start wearing a bra, Mae”

“ **Never** ” Mae hissed. “Those things pinch”

Bea snickered quietly, and the two fell silent while she worked. This was nice. This was… definitely the best thing that has happened all night.

Which made it all the worse that the tension in the air was thick enough you could cut it with a rusty blade.

“Are you mad?” Mae asked.

Bea didn’t answer, instead focusing on yanking out one particularly small splinter and causing Mae to wince as it was removed. “Nah. I’m not”

A coy smile grew on Mae’s face. “Liar. You just don’t want me to feel bad”

This smile was wiped away a moment later after a particularly nasty jab in the finger with the tweezers. “... yeah, you’re right I don’t. But I’m not mad either” Bea replied.

“Awww” Mae cooed, smirking at Bea shortly before letting out a squeak and tensing up as the pain ran up her arm. She glared. “You suck”

“ _ You _ suck, you effing  _ bit _ me”

“Hey, what happened to not making me feel bad?”

“I’m not trying to but come on, you  _ bit _ me. Who does that?”

Mae stopped for just a moment to suck up another mouthful of candy almonds and hurriedly swallow them down. “Alright I’m sorry I bit you, but I figure that just means I’m an amazing survivor. I could’ve gotten mugged tonight, and you know what? I’d have bit the hell out of them. You’d just complain about being tired and hand your wallet over”

Bea shrugged. “I carry mace”

“Ah” Instantly Mae’s mind was wondering just how long that’d been going on. Mae totally would have maced herself by now,  _ especially _ tonight.

“What happened tonight, Mae? Seriously”

Mae didn’t answer. She just thought it over, and defaulted back to her usual “Can we talk about it later?”

“... Sure” Bea, finished with her work on one hand, switched over to the other and stopped briefly to look over Mae’s fattening up wrist. “This looks like it hurts”

“Well it does  _ now _ . I wasn’t really thinking about it before”

“Right. I’ll hurry up”

“Thanks” And then they were back to silence with Mae quietly sucking up the pain from Bea pulling out her splinters. She was awesome at being stabbed. Maybe there’s a job in there somewhere. That’s basically what donating blood is, right? “So… you have a good night besides the whole… everything?”

Bea shrugged. Guess Mae didn’t actually remember any of what Bea said down by the river. “Same old same old”

“We drove all the way out here for same old same old?”

“I don’t know, Mae. I guess it just didn’t feel as exciting as I’m used to anymore”

Mae squinted. “Did you miss me?”

“Little bit. You definitely liven the place up” Bea answered. She glanced up to see a brand new smile on Mae’s face. “Oh shut up”

“Awwww”

“Shut up”

“It’s like I drugged you” Mae cooed. She sniffled once again, wiping her face off with her free hand. Okay, sad Mae gone for real this time. For double real.

Bea hesitated for a moment. It wasn’t often she was left in  _ complete _ confusion by Mae’s words, but here we were. “What?”

“Yeah, like, you’re high on my supply. I’m that hot new thing, and suddenly the old stuff doesn’t do it for you anymore, and I’m ruining your life and you’re gonna get arrested for robbing a convenience store for me”

“That is… uncomfortably accurate”

“Oh that reminds me” Mae dug her free hand around her coat pocket, eventually pulling out the slightly crushed cigarette box and handing it over.

Bea’s eyes lit up, snatching the box away. “Oh thank god”

“You mean thank me”

“Thanks, God Stevenson” Bea nodded, pulling a cigarette out and turning away from the table for the moment to light it.

Mae grinned, and in a booming voice cried “Anything for my favorite…! uh...”

Bea glanced back over. “Disciple”

“Disciple!”

Bea snickered and took a long drag from the cigarette, letting it calm her nerves. Tonight was… surprisingly stressful. She took a breath and asked “Where’d you even get these?”

“Stole ‘em”

“Right. You know what? I don’t even care”

Mae nodded knowingly. “When god hands you gifts, you don’t question them. Same thing for when god asks for food”

“God should work on getting a job so they don’t have to ask for food”

“God has many important things to do, Bea. The universe doesn’t manage to suck all on its own, y’know” Mae dug into her pocket once more, tossing the pack of cookies out onto the table. “Aaaand I have food anyway”

She was already in the middle of opening them when she noticed Bea staring at the package. Mae shoved just one disk of chocolatey goodness in her mouth before spinning the bag towards Bea.

“Want some?”

“Nah. I’m just wondering if I should stop you”

“What for?” Mae asked, still chewing.

Bea shrugged “Well they stopped making that brand like six years ago”

Mae’s jaw jerked to a sudden stop. She thought it over… and continued chewing. Whatever. Cookie good.

Bea apparently saw Mae come to this mental decision and sighed. “Yeah, that’s what I thought” She pulled Mae’s hand in to hold it still while she worked out one last splinter, then set the tweezers down. “Finished”

Mae, who didn’t seem to notice, was now on her second cookie. “Hey do you remember selling these things back in scouts?” She asked while chewing.

“Not exactly”

“I do. Well like, I don’t remember actually selling them but I remember that was a thing we did”

“Yeah. Well I  _ do _ remember being paired up with you and getting in trouble after you ate our supply” Bea said, in such a manner it made Mae wonder if she could really hold the grudge that long. “So no, I don’t remember actually selling them either”

And yet Mae couldn’t find it in her to feel bad. A grin spread over her face from ear to ear. You almost wouldn’t be able to tell she’d been bawling her eyes out twenty minutes ago. “Haha yeah I did do that”

Bea stood up and hurried off to another table, grabbing a few napkins to wipe down her arm. It wasn’t bleeding anymore, but it still stung like all hell. Part of her wouldn’t be surprised if Mae had some kind of disease.

Newly less shitty looking, Bea returned to the table and asked “Ready to go?”

“Yep”

“Gonna be okay?”

“Yep”

Bea cocked her head to the side, unconvinced. “You look like shit”

“I  _ feel _ like shit” Mae’s ear twitched. “Can we leave already?”

“How bad’s that hurt?” Bea asked, nodding to Mae’s swollen wrist. Mae only shrugged. Bea thought it over and retreated from the table again. “Alright, hold on” She went off to go grab an abandoned cup at the table she’d been sitting at with Jackie not too long ago.

She returned and set the cup down in front of Mae, who held her nose over it and winced away. Yeah it smelled like the sweetest thing ever, but with a hint of something she absolutely should not have. Alcohol. “Seriously?”

“Just aim it out the window if you have to puke. I’m not having you crying in the car the whole way back”

Mae smirked. “I never cry”

Bea shrugged. “Sure you don’t. I’m gonna go warm up the car” she gave a little half wave, grabbed the tweezers from the table, and hurried off back to the basement entrance. They’d  _ definitely _ overstayed their welcome.

“Take your time!” Mae called after her. And suddenly, she was alone again in that magical looking empty party room. Her eyes dropped back to the party cup in front of her.

Welp, might as well. Mae mentally prepared herself for the drink to taste like shit, then leaned back and took one quick swig of it.

Her eyes immediately snapped wide open. “Oh my god” She whispered. “This is amazing” Normally she could taste even the slightest bit of alcohol in a wine cooler, and it usually ruined the actual flavor of whatever it touched.

This though, this was just pure peaches, and still it had that ever familiar warmth going down her throat to indicate she’d be hating herself the next morning. In other words it was just about the best drink ever. She could have this for breakfast, lunch, and dinner just for the taste. It’d still disappoint her parents but she  _ could _ .

Mae took one more quick drink from it as the basement door opened again. This time it was Jackie, who made a beeline straight for where she was sitting.

“Oh. Wow. Hey” Mae set her cup down. “You would not believe... how much I don’t want to talk to you right n-”

Then, Jackie’s hands were gripping Mae’s coat shoving her deeper into her seat. “What the hell did you do?!”

“I fell in the river!”

“You  _ bit _ her! What is  _ wrong _ with you?”

“It was an acci-!” Mae started to say. Then a stinging pain rang out from her cheek, and Mae’s desire to be the better person tonight was effectively gone. She stared Jackie straight in the eyes. “Jackie, no bullshit, I’m going to kick you right in the face” You ever have one of those moments where you just open your mouth and all your emotions just fall out? It was sorta like that.

But hey, it was still true, so… roll with it? Mae internally shrugged. Yeah. Roll with it. “Yep. My night’s been  _ that _ bad. There will be full contact boot to mouth action all over the place, and I’ve been walking around in the snow. All. Night. Long. Let go of me or I will kick your teeth out”

“I’d like to see you try it” Jackie let go of Mae, crossing her arms. Waiting. She was daring Mae to do it. She really did feel invincible. Okay. Yeah. To hell with taking the high road.

* * *

 

Bea’s red sedan zoomed down the empty highway, having only just left the city limits. “I can’t believe this. I leave you alone for five effing minutes” Bea went on and on. This had been the conversation for at least the past ten minutes.

“She dared me!”

“Oh my god, you are such an absolute shithead. What are you, eight? You had a bad night so you’re going to lash out at the first person to wisecrack?”

Oh come the hell on. “It wasn’t lashing out, she started it! She hit me and you know she did! I tried to be the good friend! She’s the one who won’t let anything go” Mae crossed her arms, sulking in her seat.

“You’re…!” Bea sighed, running a hand down her face. “... not wrong. Definitely not right, but not wrong” Bea quietly shook her head, debating something in her own mind. It looked like she was just dropping whatever the issue was, at least as long as she’d be driving. And so the two say in a tense silence, not quite happy with each other. “She is  _ never _ going to let you come back there”

“I think I’m okay with that”

Bea was thinking something over again. Quietly, frustratedly. Things were so simple half an hour ago. “Did she really hit you?”

“I already said she did”

“Yeah but you lie about stuff that doesn’t really matter”

Mae shrugged. “I think it matters” she said, sipping from her half-finished party cup. It helped her feel warm. And kinda shitty, but a good shitty.

“Okay. I believe you” Bea nodded. It didn’t exactly fix anything, but… it was something. She gave a deep sigh, imagining all the fallout that’d be coming from this. “I’m going to be hearing about this over messenger for at least the next two weeks”

Mae downed the remains of her cup and set it in the cupholder between them. “If Jackie’s so annoying, why are you even friends with her?”

“Mae, not every friendship involves having fun together every single night. Jackie’s important to me too even if you don’t like her. I imposed on her in a big way tonight and you didn’t help” Bea went on and on and on. Mae turned her head to look out the window, not wanting to face her like this. “And I don’t expect you to understand, but believe it or not I have a pretty decent tolerance for my friends being really effing annoying”

And silence fell. Not even their usual awkward silence, but absolutely  _ painful _ silence. The discomforting knowledge that Mae Borowski had nothing clever to say.

“I’m sorry” She mumbled.

Bea glanced over and took a deep breath. “It’s fine, Mae. No use worrying about it now anyway” It didn’t really help, but they were talking. That was something. Well, Mae was quiet, but… “Seriously. It’s fine. I’m… not just mad at you. She put her hands on you first, so she’s definitely on my shit list tonight. You should have just… well, it wasn’t your fault. That’s all”

“Thanks, Bea”

Bea silently nodded. That was about the best they could hope for, for tonight at least.

Mae grabbed her therapy journal and flipped it open to a page at random, then dug through the glove compartment for a pen and just started writing. Then she stopped, blinked, stared at her hand, annoyed with the slight delay it seemed to have from her fuzzy feeling brain, and tried again.

Bea glanced over when the sound of scribbling started going on longer than she was used to, eyeing the paper Mae wrote on. “Gregg rul… what does that even mean?”

“You wouldn’t understand, Beatrice” Mae growled, hugging the journal close to hide the pages.

“Fine, fine” Bea chuckled under her breath. Then the sounds of scribbling returned. And continued… and seemed to keep going and going while Mae dumped out the entire night’s events onto the pages. “Does that thing really help?”

“Little bit” Mae answered, far too focused on making her pen do what she wanted to look up.

“So… what happened tonight?”

Mae hesitated, then shut her journal and shoved it under her seat. “When I said later, I kinda meant like… not ever”

“Yeah well I think I need to know” Bea said. “You really scared me tonight. I did the research, I looked into this… thing you’re dealing with. I really felt like I could help, and now I don’t really know what to think”

Mae had turned herself back to staring out the window with her face pressed up against the glass. Pretending not to hear no doubt. Bea sighed loudly. “Come on Mae, talk to me. We’ve got over an hour long drive ahead of us”

Mae’s ears drooped. There was no getting out of this without throwing herself from car… which was sort of appealing to be honest. “Am I your  _ best _ friend?”

Bea shrugged. “Are we eight again? Are best friends a thing we have?”

“Seriously”

Bea mulled it over briefly. “Yeah, Mae” And that alone brought a smile to the tipsy cat’s face. “You’re my best friend”

Mae took a deep breath, wiping off her face again with both hands to try and clear the foggy haze from her mind. “Good. That’s good”

“Why? Is that what you were worried about?”

“Sort of? I don’t know” Mae reached for the pink bottle sitting between them, which Bea casually snatched away and set down on her opposite side. Mae grumbled under her breath. “Like, I ruined it last time we were here, and Jackie was saying how you  _ need _ these parties and  _ need _ to feel normal. And I’m not normal, and I ruin that”

Bea spoke up, interrupting her. “Hold on, lets get something straight. I wouldn’t have come out here tonight if you weren’t along for the ride” Mae sniffled, one of her eyelids starting to droop. “You  _ are _ my best friend, Mae. Really”

“Yeah but like… best  _ available _ friend?” She asked. The phrase was… familiar. “I start thinking about all these things and how you ran off last time, and I don’t want you to hate me like you did back then. So like… I knew you wanted me to come along, but you didn’t, so I just came with you knowing you’d probably ditch me at some point”

Bea reached over to elbow Mae’s arm. “You kind of ditched yourself tonight”

Mae snickered under her breath. “I totally ditched myself” Her snickers turned to sniffles, and she rubbed her face down again, talking as she did. “So I guess it’s just that proximity thing? Like, I figured you just brought me along ‘cause I was the best available friend, but not the one you  _ really _ wanted to hang out with. And you’re my best friend Bea. Like, I’d totally beat down Andy Cullen all over again to be your friend”

“Mae…” God. Maybe she shouldn’t have pried. It was hard to be sincere while focusing on the road. At the very least Bea should’ve kept this girl sober. “Take a second. Deep breaths”

This warning went unheeded by Mae who just kept rambling on. “So like… I guess everything I feel just started feeling fake. Like it didn’t matter. All just things that didn’t really matter, ‘cause maybe it didn’t really matter to you like it does to me, and it’s all just meaningless things I tried to give meaning to”

And finally as her voice was starting to go hoarse from rambling on and on, Mae stopped. “I’ve been thinking about it for like… a long long time. Does that make sense?” She was staring at Bea, and Bea was staring at the road.

Mae turned her head to stare back out the window. She was feeling dizzy. Just a little dizzy, but dizzy still. She was suddenly very happy she was sitting.

“Mae, you are so goddamn stupid sometimes” Bea sighed. Mae pressed her face down against the windowsill, hiding her eyes. “I risked my life for you back in the woods, remember?”

“Yeah” Mae mumbled back.

“And I did it again tonight. And I’d do it a dozen more times”

Mae sniffled. “Only a dozen?”

Bea shrugged. “I’m kind of hoping you don’t almost die that many times”

“Fair enough”

“Look… Mae, look at me. Come on” Bea gave Mae a quick pat on the back, not taking her eyes off the road. Mae remained there unmoving. With a deep breath, Bea spoke anyway. “Listen, I know I can be kind of a jerk sometimes and… I guess I haven’t always been as nice to you as I should have. But like… I don’t know if you realize this but I don’t have all that many people close to me. And with how my dad has been… honestly? You’re easily the most important person in my life right now. I don’t want you to run off and leave me alone either”

An incomprehensible string of slurred gibberish came from the windowsill Mae was pressing her face again. It was kind of pathetic, but kind of cute.

Bea smirked and shook her head at the sight. “So don’t doubt yourself, alright? If I’m worried, it’s because you’re stupid and you’re wonderful, not because I want you gone” Still, Mae wasn’t lifting her head. She wasn’t quite sleeping, but... “Please don’t cry again”

A drunk, muffled groan sounded out from where Mae was hiding her face. “I’m not crying, shut up, you’re crying”

Bea quietly nodded. Not to the accusation, not to anything they’d said really. Mae couldn’t even see it. Just… to herself really. Right. Everything was out in the open, nice and proper. Everything was… not good, but right.

It took some more time before Mae was sitting up straight again. Well, ‘straight.’ Her head kept lolling from side to side. “Thanks, Bea” She said.

And Bea nodded again. “Get some sleep, Mayday. We’ve got a long drive to get through”

“Mhm” Mae murmured out. Then she closed her eyes, and slumped forward.

Finally the car fell back to its old rickety creaks and squeaks of driving down the highway. And Bea was content.

“Do you wanna go out with me?”

And then Bea very nearly veered out of the lane she was in. Mae was still up, still definitely out of it, and still staring at her. “... What?” Bea asked.

“Do you wanna go out with me?” Mae asked again.

Okay, so she hadn’t heard that wrong. “... no?” She answered.

And quiet fell back to the car. Mae groaned and made a pretty damn decent attempt to sit up straight. “That’s it?”

“What do you mean ‘that’s it’?”

“I mean like why not?”

“Well, first off you’re drunk, again, and I’m pretty sure based on that alone the only right answer is ‘No’” Bea explained, leaning her head in her hand.

“I’m just tipsy!” Mae slurred out, totally not just tipsy. “I know what I’m saying! I just like… you know when you know you’re tipping over into drunk-”

“I’m always the designated driver, so no”

“-but you’re still not there? Just on the edge of falling over, and you’re really trying to think clearly and talk straight but stupid just falls out of your mouth in a big word vomit pile?”

“I… kind of? Sort of? Where’s this going?”

Mae halfway climbed over the armrest between them, spilling into Bea’s seat. “I mean I know I’m effed up but I wanna ask you anyway so I just- I should just do it now, ‘cause I probably won’t otherwise and I’ll regret it” She reached a hand up to poke at Bea’s shoulder, opening herself up to a possibly deserved smack that for tonight wouldn’t be coming. “Does that make sense Beeebeeeee?”

Bea rolled her eyes and took a deep breath. This was… going to be the entire rest of the car ride, wasn’t it? “Alright, well let’s say you  _ are _ in your right mind, or as close to that as you get. I can’t exactly afford a relationship in general”

“What does that even mean?”

Oh for the love of “What do  _ you _ even mean? Where is this coming from anyway?”

“I didn’t get to see Bombshell at the party” Mae whined, before a gentle hand on her face pushed her back fully into her seat.

“So you’re rebounding onto me? Cool”

“No, like… remember that party in the woods we were at? Back when you were still mad at me and I puked up tacos?”

“I… take you to too many parties” Bea shook her head. Maybe that was the key. Mae became infinitely dimmer when around more than five people. “Yeah, I remember”

Mae dug herself deeper into her seat, making Bea consider just pulling over and tying her down with the seatbelt since there was good chance she'd be too drunk to free herself from it. “Ugh, fine. Just listen for a sec alright? The point is that he was really cute”

“Wait are you talking about Cole? You didn’t actually say-”

“And BOMBSHELL was really cute!” Mae yelled. “Like, really really cute. I don’t know if you saw her, but like…” Mae trailed off, making a series of hand motions that even she wasn’t entirely sure the meaning of, mostly finding it difficult to even describe her own thought process.

Bea cleared her throat, yanking Mae’s thoughts back into the car. “Like a bombshell?”

“Like a bombshell!” Mae yelled, throwing her arms up, only to immediately feel a sharp pain in her wrist and pull it back in, hissing in pain the whole while. “And nothing happened with them!” She continued, still nursing her hand. “And they were really nice too! And then when I woke up the next day they were still just cute, nice people who didn’t do anything but be cute and nice, going off to cute schools and having all these cute friends...” she trailed off, probably utterly confused by her own words.

Bea snapped her fingers, alerting Mae to her presence again. “You’re not doing a great job of explaining yourself”

Mae raised one hand and slapped it across her own face. And for just a few moments, she looked to have a semi-decent clear head. “Okay, I guess just ‘cause… your life sucks enough that you brought me to a party you knew I might ruin, and mine sucks enough that I came to a party feeling like shit and planning the whole time for you to ignore me, and we were both okay with that ‘cause we’re both ugly shitty people. And after all that we can just sit here and… talk about nothing and just enjoy being broken together” She explained. “Does that make sense?”

“... Yeah. It does” Bea didn’t even have to think that one over. It did make sense, and… it was kind of sad. But really, really sweet. “Nice backhanded compliment by the way”

“Only the best for you Beebeee” Mae giggled. Not even trying to hide it, just straight up giggling. “So what was that about affording it?”

Bea quitely shook her head. Yep, this was her life. “God, I don’t even want to think about having a boyfriend I need to pay for, let alone you”

“You already pay for stuff! It- it- it- it- It’s not like I wanna dress up and go out fancy ass restaurant every friday and sometimes when there’s a special on other days like bizniss holidays. It’ll be like always”

Bea glanced over, utterly confused. “Then why do you want to go out if it’ll just be what we usually do anyway?”

“I have no idea Beebe” Mae said, grinning. “I like you. So do you wanna go out with- URP- wif me?”

Bea took a deep breath, and focused on the road. Only like… an hour left, and she could get home. And drop this little idiot off, and go to bed, and everything about tonight could just go f-

“Bea”

The thought occurred to Bea that not so long ago she’d threatened to kick Mae out of this moving car.

“Beeeeeeea”

There was also the thought that this was still a viable option.

“Beebee”

… Well, maybe it  _ was _ a long time ago. She’d probably slow down first now.

“Beebeebeebeebeebee”

Or speed up. Bea held a hand over her face, rubbing her temple from the headache she was developing.

Mae took an obnoxiously loud breath in, ready to really let loose, and finally Bea mumbled out a quick “Fine” to cut her off.

Instead, Mae’s readiness to annoy turned into an incredibly loud shout of “Yes!” much to the surprise of both the car’s occupants. They swerved for just a moment before Bea corrected their course and glared. “... I’m sorry”

“Here’s the deal. If you actually remember any of this tomorrow… then, yeah. Sure”

“I have the besssst memry” Mae lied shamelessly.

“Now seriously, get some sleep” Bea said.

“Nuh uh. I want Burger Baron”

“We are  _ not _ stopping for Burger Baron with you like this”

“Taco Buck?”

“Why are the only food chains you know of the ones within ten minutes of your house?”

“I am not a comp-... comlp-... I’m a simple person, Bea. They’re the only ones I  _ need _ ”

Bea shook her head, smirking. “You are the single most complicated person I know, Mae Borowski”

Mae glared. Or like… tried to glare. She was doing her best. Her eyelids weren’t cooperating. They wanted sleep but her belly wanted to consume the flesh of the innocent. Or evil. Any animal would do.

She took in another obnoxiously loud breath.

“Oh god please don’t” Bea mumbled out with a hand half-covering her face.

“MORTAL!” Mae cried. The smirk expanded on Bea’s face against her wishes. “YOU WILL STOP FOR TACOS AND FEED MY EVER GROWING MAW!”

“Oh really, is that right?” Bea asked, snickering under her breath.

“Yes please” Mae answered sheepishly.

“Taco buck it is”

“Sweeeeeeeeet” Mae giggled out. Then suddenly, she was up. “Up here! Turn here!” Mae was once again standing up in her seat and now pointing to a Taco Buck sign accompanying the next highway exit sign ahead of them. She was actually reaching over into Bea’s seat, and was responsible for their car suddenly swerving into the exit way faster than it should of.

She was then the recipient of such a barrage of yelling that it very nearly cost her any enjoyment from the tacoy goodness to come. Almost.

But still Taco Buck was, as always, decent. Not quite as good as at home; a bit too bland, and a bit too expensive, but decent. And decent was alright tonight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's a million things I'd like to say about this chapter. Like how back when I was planning things out, trying to give a lot of tiny payoffs to little details, it lead to this chapter being mostly finished being written before I even properly got to it. How I once again regret Jackie's representation, but also can't really justify making her a much better person.
> 
> I'll focus on the obvious MaeBea relationship aspect though, because hey, that's what the shippers including myself are here for. Going back to my mention of reading a lot of fics before writing my own, I noticed one of my favorite little details was the big of ambiguity. The whole "will they or won't they" aspect straight to the end. It fits the setting very well, with these two being totally uncommitted to just flat out saying anything. I'd definitely have done something similar... but I didn't. Not because I thought it was better or because I wanted to be different, but moreso based on circumstance.
> 
> I think the vague approach works more when both characters are in their right of mind, which understandably is most of the time. I also know though that Mae is an emotional drunk. She's a wreck, she's forgetful, she has trouble articulating what she's trying to say, but she is very genuine. Ultimately I decided that even if the main points of sweetness were intended as platonic, a drunk Mae would be the most willing to say what she felt and the most aware that she wouldn't really get another chance to do so. It's also why I wanted to emphasize the whole "just doing what we do anyway" aspect, because I still like the more implied, less concrete get together stories. Just because feelings are had doesn't mean everything has to change. Just because one character straight up asks out another doesn't mean they can't still be casual about things.


	5. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I don't know why I wrote this one.

“Hey, hold on. Shirt”

Bea stopped Mae on her way out the car door. They were safely back in Possum Springs parked in front of the Borowski residence, bellies full and both completely worn out from the night. And it being almost 3 AM didn’t help either.

Mae thought it over a second, and answered “Nah”

And then she grabbed her things, stepped out, slammed the car door behind her, and ran inside, all while wearing Bea’s ankh shirt. Her head poked up in the window beside the door a moment later, waving goodbye.

Bea, still in the car, only gave a heavy sigh and drove off.

Welp, tonight had been pretty successful. Mae nodded to herself a few times, rubbing her hands together.

Huh. The lights were still on downstairs. Mae crept out into the living room, eyes glued to the TV currently running reruns of Garbo & Malloy. She had only seen a few episodes in the past two years and even she could tell it was a rerun. So old. So old so old.

Mae shook her head, then looked to the couch. There was Stan Borowski, his head leaned back and his whole body sunk slightly into the cushion. She hadn’t even noticed the sound of his snoring. Well, when you lived with it for eighteen years you just sorta stopped noticing it. On the other hand when she  _ did _ notice it... Well it was kinda like a very calming lawn mower sound that she hated wow how did Mom sleep next to that.

Well, if she tried to turn off the TV he was going to wake up, and then she’d have to explain why she smelled like taco vomit and why she was wearing a shirt that was essentially a dress and why her wrist was starting to look like a plum geez did that hurt. Need to stop thinking about that.

Mae took gave a deep sigh, crossed in front of her dad, hopped up on the couch next to him, and leaned in. Yeah. Long night. Dad was a good pillow. She shut her eyes and figured this was a good spot for the night.

_ Frrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrt _

Mae grinned and began snickering uncontrollably. Okay yeah he farted sometimes. And it was okay to laugh at that. Adults can laugh at farts too, there was no law saying she couldn’t.

Anyway! Mae hopped down from the couch. On second thought, her room would do just fine for the night.

* * *

 

One boot came off just fine, while the other was unceremoniously launched over beside her mirror. One day she’d get it all the way to her door. Just needed enough practice with boot launching.

Mae laid down under her usual old blanket and opened up her laptop, the light of which immediately burned out her eyes just a little sorta.

When she healed from these deadly wounds by blinking like four times, she saw most of their Messenger accounts offline for the night. Oh right, it was late as hell wasn't it? Well, Casey’s was always offline. Guess that one was even later.

Yet as she was figuring now would be a good time to sleep, the little light next to Gregg’s avatar turned from white to green. She immediately went about typing a message.

M: heeeeeeey dude

G: woah ur awake?!?!?

M: dude

M: dude

G: yea???

M: i am so effd up

G: aw lucky

M: i fel in a river

G: did u die??

M: little bit, little bit

G: coolio

M: what are you doing up?

G: cant sleep. long day

M: whats up

G: nuthin dude. angus stuff

M: thas not nothing

G: nah its fine

G: stuf just haplens sometimes

M: are you guys fighting?

G: nah

G: sometimes

G: dude sometimes stuff just happens

G: like mini fights. its normal

M: you sure?

G: couples argue sometims dude. little things. like i lost the remote and got all anxious the other day but

G: its stilll cool

G: if it was a real problem id be dumped like a zillion times already

M: you are so dumpable

G: im an awesome dumpee

M: dude we should go to the dump

G: o my god we are so going to the dump

G: so yeh its fine

M: cool. i gotta sleep

G: yea me 2. nite dude

And his little icon went from green to white. Mae rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling. She didn’t quite feel like garbage yet, but the buzz from earlier was definitely gone. Trash, maybe, but not full on garbage. You could still scoop her into the recycling bin and there was a chance no one would notice the difference.

Well, couples fight. That’s a good thing. Pretty sure she already knew that, but it was still good to know. Validation, that’s the word. Mae hadn’t seen Mom and Dad fight. Well, not since Dad stopped drinking, and the fights before that weren’t really the same kinds of fights she was thinking about now. Maybe you just sorta stopped having them when you got old. Oh god, was she gonna get old soon?

A bing noise made Mae return her attention to the laptop, now staring at the screen upside down. Bea must have gotten home, now that her little avatar was lit up.

B: Go to bed, Mae.

Mae turned herself over, very nearly rolling out of bed onto the floor as she did.

M: you cant tell me what to do

B: Go to bed or I’m taking my shirt back.

M:

M: fine

M: are you working tomorroe?

B: I’d rather be buried alive.

M: thats not a no

B: Goodnight, Mae.

And then she was alone again. Hmm.

Mae watched the screen, half expecting Angus or Lori’s lights to pop up green too. No such luck though, and after say thirty seconds of waiting she shut the laptop and pulled her blanket up to cover most of her head.

She stretched out, yawned at the wall, and mumbled “Home again, home again” before shutting her eyes. Maybe they’d play that fish song tonight. She liked that one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I write the vast majority of my stories by phone. It's more comfortable to me. That said, this chapter made my autocorrect throw an absolute shit fit.
> 
> I am the master here, I decide when I will misspell the word "tomorrow" and that's final.


End file.
